1 tb Olive oil 1/4 c Chopped fresh dill, plus
1 lb Carrots …extra for garnish
2 c Vegetable stock or water Salt and freshly ground
1 Yellow or orange pepper, …black pepper
…roasted, peeled, seeded, 1/4 c Shelled pumpkin seeds
…and coarsely chopped 3 tb Toasted whole wheat bread
1 lg Shallot, minced (1-1/2 tb) …crumbs
6 oz Firm or extra-firm tofu, 1 Fresh jalapeo, seeded,
…pressed …deveined, and chopped
(If a jalapeo is too hot for your taste, use a chili pepper of your
choice instead.)
1. Prehat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9-1/2-inch round cake
pan with olive oil. Peel, trim, and cut carrots crosswise, keeping
top piece 3-1/2 inches long, then cut bottom pieces into thin rounds.
2. In saucepan, combine carrot rounds with stock or water; cook until
very soft, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove carrots from cooking liquid with
slotted spoon. Leave liquid in saucepan.
3. Meanwhile, cut top pieces of carrots lengthwise into thin slices.
In hot liquid used to cook carrot rounds, cook sliced carrots until
barely tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. In bowl of food processor, pulse cooked carrot rounds with roasted
pepper, minced shallot, tofu, and dill until almost smooth; mixture
will be thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Cover bottom of greased cake pan with the long, thin carrot slices,
arranging them in an overlapping sunburst pattern. Cover center of
sunburst pattern with four or five odd-shaped pieces chopped into
bits. Spread pureed carrot mixture over sliced carrots in an even
layer.
6. Wipe out bowl of food processor. Combine pumpkin seeds, bread
crumbs, and jalapeo in processor; grind to a fine meal. Sprinkle
and pat mixture over pureed carrots to make a “bottom” crust for tart.
7. Bake 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 to 20 minutes. Invert serving
plate over pan. Slip one hand under pan and hold plate over it with
other hand, flip pan and plate so tart falls onto plate, right side
up. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature, garnished with dill
sprigs.
*Natural Health Magazine, Jan/Feb 1995
Yields
7 servings