Vegan White Bean, Caramelized Onion and Pesto Tart

Yield: 4 main dish or 8-9 appetizer servings

This emergency lunch turned out to be quite elegant. Born from the need to use a puff pastry crust I had already baked and some leftover Vegan Spinach Pesto that I couldn't keep much longer, I simply caramelized some onions and garlic for sweetness and stirred them together with white beans, sundried tomatoes and the Pesto before filling the shell. A red bell pepper that also needed to be used soon and rosemary sprigs from my garden with raindrops still clinging to them proved to be the perfect garnish.

1 box Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets (remove one sheet from the box and bag and thaw for about 40 minutes, covered, on the counter top)
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved, and cut into 1/4 inch slivers
1-2 large cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
Coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
1 can white beans
several spoonfuls of my Vegan Spinach Pesto to taste (see recipe below)
6 sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

Optional garnish: red bell pepper slices and rosemary sprigs

Make filling: heat oil to shimmering in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute, stirring fairly frequently, for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown, soft and sweet. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook until heated through and flavors are married.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a baking sheet or line with Silpat. Carefully unfold the sheet of pastry onto the baking sheet. With a knife, gently score a line about one-half inch from the edge of the crust all the way around, making sure not to cut all the way through the dough. Using a fork, generously but gently prick inside the scored line. Place baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake shell for approximately 20 minutes (check after 15) until golden brown and very puffed.

Remove crust from oven and use the back of a spoon to gently crush down the puffed area inside the scored lines leaving a raised half-inch rim all the way around. Spoon bean mixture over crust, spreading to inside edge of rim. Slide onto a cutting board and cut into 4, 8 or 9 squares. Transfer to individual plates or a serving platter (or serve right from the cutting board) and garnish as desired.

If not using the crust immediately, remove from oven to a wire rack to cool. When ready to use--best if within two-three hours or so--preheat oven to 350 degrees, crush down puffed area and fill as described above and, before cutting, place tart in oven for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Garnish as desired.


Vegan Spinach Pesto
Yield: approximately 1 ½ cups

10 ounces fresh baby spinach, rinsed and dried
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried
3-4 garlic cloves
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts halve or pieces (toast in a dry skillet over medium to medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently)
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional, but I highly recommend?available at health food stores and some supermarkets)
Juice of one lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
Generous amount of salt to taste (necessary to bring out flavors)

Place about ¼-1/3 of the bag of spinach in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until finely chopped. Continue adding spinach through the shoot, quickly, with motor running until all has been incorporated, scraping down sides as necessary. Stop processor and add remaining ingredients, except oil. Then turn motor on and stream in oil through the shoot until a thick bright green paste forms. Avoid over-processing at each stage. Check for salt and adjust if necessary.