The crust for this quiche is slightly unusual, as it is made from ground almonds and pea protein. It came about as we tried to boost the nu...
The crust for this quiche is slightly unusual, as it is made from ground almonds and pea protein. It came about as we tried to boost the nutritional content of some of our favourite meat-free meals for our regular 'Meat Free Mondays'. Despite the unusual ingredients, it behaves in much the same way as usual gluten free shortcrust pastry so it's best to forget rolling it out, and just press it into the tin. You get a ‘rustic’ look, but it’s much easier than an argument with a rolling pin.
Swiss Chard & Walnut Tart Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 100g pea protein powder
- 100g ground almonds or walnuts
- 120gdairy free butter*
- 1 egg/2 egg whites
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Seasoning to taste
For the filling:
- 1 medium onion
- 200g chard
- Olive oil for cooking
- 2 large eggs
- 150ml soya cream or yogurt
- 75g walnut halves
- Nutmeg and black pepper for seasoning
Swiss Chard & Walnut Tart Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°c and ready a tart tin.
- Place the dry pastry ingredients into a food processor and pulse to combine. Cut the dairy free butter into small pieces, and add to the food processor. Pulse the mixture until it looks like wet sand and there are no big lumps of butter left.
- Add half of the egg, and mix with a fork until it starts to come together into a dough. Add a little more egg if the mixture is too dry. With cold hands, take clumps of the mix and press it lightly into the tin, making sure there are no gaps.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until light brown. Meanwhile, prepare the fillings: finely chop the onion, strip the stalks from the chard and chop those too, then shred the chard leaves.
- Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions, frying until starting to softened. Add the chard stalks and fry a for a few minutes more. Finally, add the leaves and cook until starting to wilt slightly. Season well.
- Combine the remaining eggs and dairy free cream in a jug, season with nutmeg and whisk well.
- When the pastry crust is ready, remove it from the oven and increase the heat to 180°c. Evenly spread the onions and chard in the pastry case, lay the walnuts on top, then pour in the eggs & cream. Return to the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the tin to cool.
- Some dairy free butters can behave rather differently, so you may need to add a little more of the dry ingredients if the mixture seems too wet or oily.
- Makes 6 Portions
