Savory Vegan White Bean Tart Food

SAVORY VEGAN WHITE BEAN TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• To make the crust put all dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor, mix thoroughly, then add chilled shortening and Earth Balance. Either process or cut fat into dry mixture until pea-sized, then add 2-4 tablespoons ice water until mixture is a solid lump of dough (somewhere between not sticky, not dry but perfectly moldable). Flour a board, roll out dough so that it can cover a 10 inch tart pan. Gently fold in half and place dough in the refrigerator for at least 1/2-1 hour.
• Peel and cut the potato very thinly, placing in ice water and set aside.
• Cut mushrooms and shallots thinly. In a warm wide bottomed pan, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and add 1 teaspoons sea salt, mushrooms and shallots. Allow the mixture to caramelize on medium-low heat for approximately 10 minutes. Add apple juice and white wine, saute until the mixture is dry, scraping browned remnants into the mixture. Set aside.
• In a small pan, place 3 tablespoons of olive, with thyme, basil and garlic cloves sliced lengthwise. Allow to saute for 3-4 minutes until aromatic and garlic is golden. ***You can substitute fresh herbs: 10 leaves, basil, 2 sprigs thyme (de-twigged!).
• Put 1 tablespoons flour first into a small mixing bowl and add 3 tablespoons warm water slowly, mix until there are no lumps. In the processor add rinsed white beans, tahini, maple/agave, garlic herb oil mixture, vinegar, flour mixture, 1/2 teaspoons salt and lemon juice and process until it is a fine thoroughly acquired paste. Then add chilled potatoes and process until pieces are about pea-sized.
• Add bean mixture to mushroom mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Take the dough, oil tart pan and gently form into crust. Pour in filling, smooth with the back of a spoon and dust with paprika. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until crust and filling are golden on the edges.
• This dish is best served luke-warm, or chilled! Enjoy!

ASPARAGUS AND WHITE BEAN PESTO TART

Steps:

• Remove 1 puff pastry sheet from the freezer and let it defrost on the counter for 40 minutes on top of parchment paper. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400º F and make the filling.
• Drain and rinse the beans, and add them to the work bowl of a food processor. Add of the remaining ingredients except the soymilk (salt through lemon juice). Pulse the food processor, stopping ever few pulses to scrape down the sides and pulse again. You want to break up the beans and the cashews. Once it's as smooth as you can get it, dribble in the soymilk while the machine is running, as this should help further smooth the mixture.
• After 40 minutes of defrosting, carefully unwrap the puff pastry on top of your parchment paper.
• Roll the puff pastry out slightly into a rectangle. Then add the white bean pesto mixture, leaving a 1 to 1 1/2 inch border on all sides.
• Trim your asparagus so that it fits the tart width-wise. Press the spears into the white bean pesto, alternating their direction so that there are tips and bases next to each other; this one everyone is guaranteed every part of the asparagus after cutting.
• With a sharp knife, trim all the edges to they are neat and square. Trim away as little as possible.
• Brush the spears with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• Using the parchment paper, slide the tart onto a baking sheet (don't remove the tart from the paper). Bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes until the tart is puffed and golden brown and the spears are tender. Serve while just warm.
• You can reheat this tart in the oven for a few minutes if you have leftovers, but it's also good at room temperature. Fresh basil is a nice garnish. If you've never worked with puff pastry before, this is a great recipe to get your feet wet. It really is easy to use, just as delicious as phyllo dough with none of the stress. And it's fun to watch it puff!

VEGAN WHITE BEAN AIOLI

Steps:

• Combine the beans, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything.
• Preheat a small pan over low heat.
• Cook the garlic in the olive oil for about 3 minutes. (You want just to gently heat it, not brown it.).
• Add the garlic and oil to the mixture in the blender and puree.
• Taste for salt, pepper and lemon and adjust to your liking.
• Transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.