Spinach Tomato Tart
Fall is in the air, the evenings are getting cooler and my dehydrator is humming again! During the summer, dinner is almost always a hearty salad made with fresh finds from the farmer’s market. But as the evenings cool off, I find myself wanting something a little more substantial and the raw food recipes start getting a little more creative!
I made this little tart with the left over tomatoes from the Hearty Heirloom Salad. I love the concentrated flavors of a marinated tomato, so into the dehydrator they went. Once these were done I knew they would make a perfect little tomato tart. The crust is made from almonds and kale (for an extra nutritional punch) and the filling uses cashews, tomatoes and spinach! With a little advanced planning to marinate the tomatoes and dehydrate the kale, these little raw, nutritious tarts come together in a pinch and the flavor is unbelievable! A perfect raw food recipe for dinner tonight, or your entertaining menu! *Day Before Notes: Marinate tomatoes, dehydrate kale, soak cashews.
You can use baking rings, or tart shells for these tarts. I love these rings: Baking Rings and this tart pan: Tart Pan
Perfectly marinated tomatoes!
Tomato Spinach Tart
SERVES 4-6
Marinated Tomatoes
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, divided
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, diced fine
- 3 tablespoons Italian herb mix (oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme and cracked rosemary from Penzey’s)
- Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and herb mix.
- Slice tomatoes in half and toss with vinaigrette to coat.
- Place on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 145 for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 115 and finish dehydrating 6-8 hours or until tomatoes are done. (Don’t worry they are still raw. The food temp never goes above 115 degrees)
Crust
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup kale flakes (dehydrate your kale when you are dehydrating the tomatoes)
- pinch Himalayan salt and pepper
- To make the kale flakes, dehydrate 2 cups of kale (you can do this when dehydrating the tomatoes) and when completely dry, crush with rolling pin.
- Place almonds in food processor. Process until a fine crumb is achieved.
- Add kale, coconut oil and salt and pepper. Pulse to mix.
- Pat 1/4-inch deep in tart shells. You can use one 9″ tart shell or 4 smaller tart shells.
Filling:
- 1 1/2 cup cashews, soaked overnight in the fridge and drained
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 cup spinach (crushed by hand)
- 2 cups marinated tomatoes
- Place cashews, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and water in high speed blender. Blend until smooth, remove from blender to bowl.
- Stir in crushed spinach and tomatoes.
- Top with a the remaining two cups of marinated tomatoes and put in refrigerator until set, approximately 1-2 hours.
Roxanne wrote on September 8, 2011
@Hello Romi,
I had the same problem you had with a tart recipe I tried last spring. (crumbly crust) But I remember that Susan told me to add more moisture to get the crust to stick together. Think molding clay! This looks like a fantastic recipe. I am so happy that cool weather is returning!
“Hey Susan, what is your trick for getting these out of a tart pan without breaking them….. yours look so beautiful, mine, many pieces:(”
Thanks, romi
@see above for one of Susan’s tips from the past, Romi. Have fun!
Chris wrote on September 8, 2011
OH HOW I WISH FALL WAS IN THE AIR!!! It is 110 degrees presently in Phoenix!
This is a beautiful tart, though… One that I will look forward to trying once it drops below 100…Ü…
Jenny wrote on September 8, 2011
Hi Susan–
Is it possible to make this recipe without a dehydrator? It looks delicious.
Thanks!
Jenny
Susan wrote on September 8, 2011
If you don’t care about the raw status, you could put the kale and the tomatoes in an oven at a low temp. But you will have to watch as I don’t know what the time would be.
Barb wrote on September 8, 2011
thanks for adding that! I am off to prepare it. Yummy.
Raw Chef Dosa wrote on September 8, 2011
What can I say…perfect!
Barb wrote on September 8, 2011
I have all the ingredients = lucky me!!! I can’t wait to taste it. As for the tomatoes – are the whole when they go into the dehydrator?
Susan wrote on September 8, 2011
No they are sliced in half prior to marinating. See marinate instructions. 🙂
Rita wrote on September 8, 2011
Looks amazing! Your presentation is always gorgeous. Where did you obtain your scalloped smaller tart shells?
Jaya Lisa wrote on September 8, 2011
Thank You ~ I will try this and let you know. Looks good .Thanx for all the great questions and answers <3
Holly wrote on September 8, 2011
looks totally great. love using cashews like this. turbo blenders rock.