Roasted Carrot, Red Onion & Sweet Potato Tart with a Gluten Free Falafel Pastry Crust

Roasted Carrot, Red Onion & Sweet Potato Tart with a

Gluten Free Falafel Pastry Crust 

Photography by Rainbow Chef. Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.

Hello and welcome back! I hope you have all had a fabulous weekend and have an exciting week ahead! We are still experiencing a heat wave and I think Sunday has got be the hottest day yet with temperature soring to 32 degrees C, certainly not the heat I want to be spending too much time near a hot oven that’s for sure.

So, a few weeks back now I cooked a lovely meal for my family, it was very unusual for them and certainly not something they had before but it got the 2 thumbs up (this is seriously HUGE with all things considering…), anyway, their cheffy next door neighbours were told all bout what I was getting up too in the kitchen and so they popped round for a nosey and a natter since like me they adore cooking and finding out new edible recipes to try out. As we were talking, they were telling me all about this Carrot Tart they had out somewhere that had a Gluten Free Oat crust, it sounded delicious and I for one was inspired! I banked the use of carrots in a tart in my thoughts and got straight on the matter.

One of my most favourite snacks to make is the humble Falafel, not only is it packed full of gorgeous Middle Eastern Spices, but it has a lovely thick almost doughy consistency, perfect for making into…PASTRY! I started to experiment and new the perfect ingredient that would add rigidity and a light crunch and so I made my usual falafel but adding in a couple more ingredients; moulding it into a deep flan dish. I was thrilled as I opened the oven door to find it worked!

Another creation of mine I tend to make in the colder months is a Baked Sweet Potato Mash of which I thought would work well as just a simple puree, and then the addition of Roasted Carrots. So basically I introduce to you collection of all my favourite things amalgamated into a tart!

Aromatic, Sweet and crisp with a delicate bite, my version of a Carrot Tart makes a fabulous centre piece for dinner guests, as well as a delicious weekend treat, scrumptious eaten Hot OR Cold!

What Will I Need?

Food Processor

2 x Baking Trays

30cm Deep Fill Flan Dish

Medium Cooking Pan

Colander

Sharp Knife

Spatula OR Metal Spoon

Ingredients

For the pastry

35g/1/3 Cup Gluten Free Oats

25g/¼ Cup Chic Pea Flour OR Besan

1 x 400g Tin Chic Peas in Water

¼ tsp. Ground Sea Salt OR Pink Himalaya Rock Salt

1 tbsp. Dried Corriander OR Mixed Herbs

 For the Filling

1 x Large Sweet Potato peeled an roughly chopped

1 x Clove Fresh Garlic minced

1 tsp. Mixed Sweet Spice

1/2 tsp. Ground Sea Salt OR to taste

Ground Black Pepper to taste

2 Medium Carrots diagonally Sliced

1 x Large Red Onion

1 tbsp. Olive Oil (for brushing)

1 tsp. Corn Flour

Method:

For the pastry

1. Place all the pastry ingredients in a Food Processor and blend until smooth the mixtures resembles a dough (this will be quite a delicate dough but fear not as this is normal).
2. Place the dough in the base of a 30cm Deep Fill Flan Dish and with your knuckles, start to push the mixture out from the centre and up the sides of the dish until you have covered the entirety of the dish. TIP! Be sure to perform this step carefully, the pastry needs to be as even in thickness as possible, any excess can be trimmed away.
3. Pop in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, for the filling

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C (180 degrees C for Gas).

Place the second Baking Tray into the oven (this is for the pastry case)

1. Keeping the Skins on, diagonally slice the 2 Carrots length ways, you need to keep them quite chunky. Likewise with the Red Onion. Place on a baking Tray, brush with the Olive Oil and let Roast for approx. 20 minutes. TIP! You want the Carrots to be tender but not browned too much as they will overcook; the remainder of the cooking stage is once the Tart has been assembled.
2. Remove from the oven and set aside to Cool. 

You’ll need to clean the bowl of your Food processor for this stage.

1. Place the Chopped Sweet Potato in a Medium Size Cooking Pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then turn down to medium heat to let cook until tender (a vegetable knife should easily pierce through). Drain in a colander.
2. Place the Sweet Potato and the remainder of the ingredients back into the Food Processor and blitz until smooth; Place in the fridge to allow the flavours to marinate together, about 40 minutes.

 Back to the Pastry

1. Remove the pastry case from the fridge and pop onto the hot Baking Tray, this will help prevent a soggy base! Let bake for about 25-30 minutes OR until the edges are slightly golden. 
2. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before smearing the base and the sides with the corn flour with your fingertips. 

To assemble 

1. With a Spatula, scrape the Sweet Potato Puree onto the base of the Tart Case and spread right out to the edges of the Tart case.
2. Aarrange the part roasted Carrot in a circular pattern, nestling the red onion inbetween as per the photo, OR create your own design!
3. Brush with the remainder of the Olive Oil, then sprinkle over the Nutritional Yeast and a light sprinkle of more Sea Salt
4. Let Bake until the Carrots and Sweet Potato have gone beautifully golden.
5. Set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy!

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve this up warm with a lovely salad with a citrusy dressing and Potato wedges. Also delicious served up with your favourite veggies and gravy for a delicious hearty meal in the colder months!

TIP!

This Tart is scrummy eaten cold too, perfect for picnics and as an exciting addition to your work OR School lunch box; dinners needn’t be dull EVER again!