Let's start with a tomato tart!

You have tomatoes, I have tomatoes...

Thank you so much for being here! I write this introduction from the headspace of having just put in an hour’s harrowing work on an Instagram reel about a mushroom sandwich only to have the app delete it moments after nailing the voiceover, never to be seen again, in spite of my fervent googling and attempting of all hacks to get it back, so. Feels good to try something new? Something in my good ol’ wheelhouse, the written word? You guys want to know about a mushroom sandwich? Maybe next time!

Anyway, I feel an itchy desire to tell you in grandiose detail what this newsletter will be and what it won’t, who I am and who I’m not, but the truth is I have no clue about either thing, really. I did try to put a summary in the About Section, but we’ll see how it goes and let things evolve. I’m very chill. (I’m not.)

One thing I want to say about recipes I share here is that they may not be tested to the hilt, they may be works in progress, I may provide better iterations later. But if I share something, it means I think it’s forgiving and doable and delicious and I’d love if you gave it a try! If you do, I’d also love if you shared that with me, either here or on Instagram or Twitter. I’m also here to answer q’s and trouble-shoot in the comments.

I think vegan cooking can be so amazing, it’s such a nice “liberating constraint.” Lots of my friends have said they’d like to eat more vegan food but don’t really know what to make. So I’m hoping to offer some ideas and nerd out and have fun. Some recipes will be more beginner than others, there might be the occasional ingredient you can’t get in a big box supermarket, but I’ll try to always make a case for why you might want to see that ingredient out, how else you could use it, or why a recipe’s worth spending extra time on.

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Vegan Tomato Tart

If I do say so myself, she’s a banger, baby! This tart is the reason I started this newsletter before I was ready — I wanted to get it out before tomato time was over. I love to ogle all the tomato pies, tarts, galettes et al people whip up this time of year, but so often they’re held together with eggs and cream and cheese. Who needs em, amiright? I’m using two kinds of tofu plus tahini for a light, creamy, cheesy filling that nicely holds its shape. I feel there was a time when tofu tarts were much-maligned, considered hopelessly seventies. But, like. They’re really good! And we all want a beautiful, substantial dinner we can make ahead and serve cold with a salad in the summertime, right? Right!

I want you to know that if you make this tart with miso it’s going to be very good. However! I spend a lot of time in my lil vegan life screaming from the rooftops to go to your nearest East Asian supermarket, or Amazon if you gotta, and get yourself some white fermented tofu, aka chao, aka fu ru. You may already know how great it is with stir-fried vegetables or served alongside congee. If you’re not familiar, you can read more about it and it’s myriad traditional uses in this great article by Cathy Erway. But it also tastes like — and I would argue is, — cheese! There are so many different types of fermented tofu, but for Western-style cheese-like applications the plain white variety is my go-to. It’s funky and salty and pungent, a little goes a long way, and it makes the filling of this tart zingy and delicious. I like this one by Pearl River Bridge. If you ever liked blue and washed-rind cheeses, this is also a treat on toast!

Shout-outs:

Though it’s a common ingredient in Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and other cultures’ cuisines, I first learned about fermented tofu from The Artful Vegan: Fresh Flavours from The Millennium Restaurant in which it’s used to mimic gruyere. As Alicia Kennedy recently pointed out in Bon Appetit, Millenium in Oakland has been (successfully) doing vegan fine dining since decades before Eleven Madison Park embarrassed itself, and I learned a ton from their book even if I don’t always make all the sauces, crumbles, salsas, and slaws each recipe calls for.

The almond flour press-in crust is based on queen Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s classic recipe that I’ve been riffing on for years. It takes minutes to put together, and it doesn’t make me cry like rolling pastry can does.

Finally, thanks to one of my fave Instabuds, wildly talented recipe developer and chef Sara May, who has a #tomatotartparty every summer that inspires me so hard. Here we go! Let’s party!

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Ingredients:

For the crust

• ⅔ cup almond flour

• 1 cup all purpose flour

• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp dried herb of your choice or black pepper (optional, to your taste)

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• 2-4 tbsp cold unsweetened plant milk (I use soy)

For the filling

• 1 package extra firm tofu, 350-400 grams

• 2 cubes white fermented tofu, or 1 heaped tbsp white miso paste

• 2 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 2 tbsp tahini

• 1 tsp salt

• Ground pepper to taste

• 1-2 tbsp cold water, depending on mix-ins

For the Mix-Ins

Here’s where things get fun! I have done this tart a few ways now, and all of them have been great!

» The first time:

• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

• 1 cup parsley, roughly chopped

» The second time:

• Kernals from two cobs of corn, sautéed in olive oil for about eight minutes

• 1/4 teaspoon each of chili powder and smoked paprika

• 1/2 cup chopped basil

» The third time:

• 1 cup chopped basil

• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

• Extra clove of garlic in the filling

To assemble:

• Have about a pound (450 g) of tomatoes on hand, any kind. You may not use them all, but good to have extra. Slice half of them to start, then add more as you need. I like to slice mine about half an inch thick.

• Half a small red onion, sliced

• 8-10 olives, green, black or a combo, pitted and halved or sliced (if you like)

• Kernels from one cob of corn (if you like)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Salt, pepper, and dried herbs of your choice (oregano goes well with the mint version for example)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.

• Mix all crust ingredients together, starting with 2 tbsp soy milk and adding more until a dough forms that just sticks together when you press some between your fingers but isn’t too wet.

• Sprinkle all the dough into a 9-inch tart pan and press it in, beginning with the sides and then covering the bottom. When the bottom is covered, press it in more firmly with the flat bottom of a glass or jar so it’s in a nice even layer.

• Bake for 15 minutes, then set aside to cool. Crank the oven to 400 F.

• While the crust bakes and cools, make the filling. Put all filling ingredients except water in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the mix-ins of your choice and pulse until herbs and/or corn are well-chopped and incorporated. You can leave it chunkier if you prefer. If the filling seems dense, add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until it is a nice, light ricotta-ish consistency.

• By now your crust should be cool enough to fill. It may be a bit cracked in spots, but this has not caused problems for me. Spread the filling into the crust, smoothing the top and creating an even layer.

• Evenly distribute the sliced onions on top of the filling, followed by the tomatoes, in whatever pattern you like. Tuck your olives in and around the tomatoes, or use a few less tomatoes and fill in the gaps with fresh corn kernels.

• Season with salt, pepper, and dried herbs of your choice. Drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil.

• Bake for a full hour until the crust is golden brown and the tomatoes are dry to the touch in spots and looking roasted and good.

• Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. You can serve at that point, but I prefer to let it cool completely and eat cold.