There is an overgrow of zucchini and fennel in our garden. It is very beautiful and it is a lot. I discovered also today that fennel is continuing to grow if you cut it a little above the root (I read it in a gardening book after harvesting the whole plant…). For the base of the tart, I used margarine. When buying margarine I always try to find some with unhydrogenated fat and high in unsaturated fat. There are margarines with flaxseed oil, coconut oil and other good stuff. Next time I will try to make the base of the tart with coconut oil instead of margarine. You can try first and tell me how it went :)
For the topping of the tart I used pumpkin seeds. I soaked them for about 8 hours and then I let them dry in the sun. This is a lot of effort for a little amount of seeds, but it is worth it if you can afford the time. If you are interested in how and why to soak nuts and seeds, look here.
We ate all of this with 5 people. I guess you can also make it with 4.
Zucchini Tart
Base:
1,5 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup puffed amaranth
100 g margarine
3 tablespoon water
salt
Filling:
400 g silken tofu
2 zucchini
1 carrot
2 small onions
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
handful of pumpkin seeds (preferably soaked for 8 hours) for decoration
Prepare the base:
Mix all ingredients together. Use your hands to make the dough. Kneat everything until it is well combined. It´s best to put the dough into the fridge for approximately 20 min. But you can skip this step if you are short in time. Preheat the oven to 170° C. Press the dough into a spring form pan (I used a 26 cm one) and bake for 15 min.
Prepare the filling:
Grate the zucchini and the carrot finely. Chop the onions into small pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Fry them until they are a little brown. Combine all ingredients and mix with a fork until the consistency is smoothly.
Fill the filling on top of the baked base. Now bake everything for another 45 min or until the filling has a light brown crust. When you take the tart out of the oven, let it set for a while. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
Red Beet Fennel Salad
2 fennel
1-2 red beet (depending on your liking and their size)
For the sauce:
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon thinly chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
rosemary
Cut off the green top of the fennel and safe some for later. Chop the fennel and the beet into your favorite pieces. Combine all ingredients for the sauce and stir well. Pour over the fennel and the beet and mix everything. Decorate with some of the green you saved in the beginning
The zucchini tart is at its best when it is neither cold or hot. The salad gets even better, when it has some time to marinate. So don´t hurry :)
Buen apetit! I hope you´ll like it.