Festive Chickpea Tart
Move over faux turkeys! This savory tart takes center plate with its combination of chickpeas, crunchy walnuts, spinach, and seasonings nestled together. This dish is elegant enough to serve for holiday gatherings, but also easy enough to make for a family dinner any time of the year.
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp water
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 4-5 medium-large garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Few pinches freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chickpeas reserve 1/3 cup
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp tamari
- 1/2 tsp ground sage
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup walnuts toasted, see note for nut-free
- 1/3 cup rolled oats optional, see note
- 1 - 10 oz pckg frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed to remove excess water (about 1 cup after squeezing)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme added to puree)
- 1 prepared whole-wheat pastry pie crust thawed (see note)
- 1 tsp tamari
- 2 tbsp walnuts (see note for nut-free) chopped (for topping, no need to toast beforehand)
Instructions
- Add water, onion, celery, garlic, salt and pepper in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook 9-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and turning golden. In a food processor, add chickpeas (except reserved 1/3 cup), lemon juice, tamari, sage, salt, and sautéed mixture, and partially puree (not fully like hummus, but leaving some chunkier consistency). Add toasted walnuts and oats, and briefly pulse to lightly break up nuts. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in spinach, cranberries, parsley, thyme, and reserved chickpeas. Transfer mixture to pie shell (or lightly oiled pie plate, see note), smoothing to evenly distribute. Brush tamari over top. Sprinkle on walnuts. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until tart is golden on edges and top. Cool 5-10 minutes, then serve with cranberry sauce, a spoon drizzling of oil/balsamic vinegar slurry, or other sauce of choice. Serves 4-5.
Notes
Oats Note: The rolled oats, while lending some structure to the tart, can easily be omitted.
Pie Shell Note: This tart can be made without the pastry crust, if needed. If you want to make the tart without the crust, simply prepare the pie plate with a spray of oil (or wipe), and then bake for about 5 minutes less.
Nuts Note: For a nut-free option, use pumpkin seeds. You can reduce the amount in the filling if you prefer.
Note: Serve with Traditional Cranberry Sauce (below), or a gravy. Try Rosemary Gravy from LTEV or HOMESTYLE GRAVY, Plant-Powered Families. This recipe is also a reader favorite, from eat, drink and be vegan.