Description
This beautiful and healthy Vegan Summer Squash Lattice Tart features zucchini, yellow squash, leeks, cashew cream, and a crisp whole wheat crust. Perfect for summer!
Ingredients
Scale
Cashew Cream:
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 garlic clove
- Pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ lemon, juiced (1 tablespoon)
- ½ cup plant-based milk, unsweetened, plain
Whole Wheat Pastry Crust:
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour (plus additional for rolling out dough)
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- Pinch salt
- 1/3 cup vegan butter sticks (i.e., Miyoko creamery), cold
- 1/3 cup ice water
Summer Squash Lattice Topping and Filling:
- 4-6 small (about 6 ounces each)summer squash or zucchini (2-3 yellow and 2-3 green), if possible, select straight thin squashes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 small leek (about 7 ounces; 2 1/2 cups total), trimmed, white and lower green parts, sliced in half moons, rinsed well
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried oregano
- Pinch salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Make Cashew Cream: Place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with water. Soak for at least 1 hour, or overnight. (You may also use the quick soak method by soaking cashews in boiling water for 15 minutes.)
- Drain water from cashews, and place the softened cashews in the container of a small blender. Add nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, white pepper, lemon juice, and plant-based milk. Process cashew cream until very smooth, thick, and creamy. May pause to scrape down sides during blending. And may add additional plant-based milk (one tablespoon at a time) if needed to make a thick creamy texture. Set aside.
- Make the Whole Wheat Crust. Mix together flours and salt. With an electric mixer, mix in the vegan butter until crumbly, about 15 seconds (do not overmix).
- Add the ice water, mixing with electric mixer just until smooth (about 20-30 seconds; do not overmix). Should make a cohesive dough that is not sticky. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 11 inches in diameter (to fit into a 9-inch shallow pie pan or tart pan with removable bottom (this is preferred) with an additional 2 inches to allow for the rim of the pan). Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
- Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork. Place in the oven and parbake for 10 minutes. Remove the crust and set aside.
- Make the Summer Squash Lattice Topping: Trim the ends of the squash, and slice them into thin vertical strips. The slices should be thin enough to be pliable for making a lattice top, but thick enough to avoid breaking. To prep for your lattice pattern, lay out your lattice pattern in a dish the same size as your tart pan (9 inches). For the first layer, select alternating yellow and green pieces of summer squash that fit rows across the horizontal length of the pan, using various sizes of squash. You may have to use two pieces in some rows. Lay out the second layer of the lattice on top of the first layer, this time creating vertical rows of alternating green and yellow summer squash on top of the horizontal rows.
- Chop the remaining strips and pieces of the squash into small pieces to make 1 ½ cups chopped squash. Reserve remaining squash for another use.
- To make Filling: Heat 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan and add leeks, garlic, and 1 ½ cups chopped squash (from step 9). Sauté for about 9 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Add oregano, salt and pepper and stir while cooking for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cashew cream, mixing well.
- Fill the par baked pastry shell with the vegetable cashew cream filling and smooth over surface with a spatula.
- Gently create the lattice pattern of summer squash slices over the top of the tart by by taking the first vertical layer of the squash rows you laid out and transferring it to the top of the filled tart. Using the second horizontal layer of the squash rows you laid out, weave one strip at a time (starting from center) horizontally into the bottom vertical layer, going alternately over and under the first layer to create a lattice pattern. Note: the squash may seem crowded on the top of the pie, but it will shrink during baking. Wipe away any filling on top with a clean cloth. Brush the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil over the surface.
- Place the tart on the top rack of the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes at 375 F, until summer squash is golden on the top.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
To make this recipe gluten-free use gluten-free flour blend instead of the wheat flours.
Use any extra unused summer squash pieces in a soup or stir-fry.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 425
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 158 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 12 g
