Peas, Herbs & Greens Tart
For me this tart is a true celebration of the arrival of spring. This recipe evolved from a herby green burger recipe I used to make and was inspired by an Anna Jones pea filo tart recipe that I use regularly. The filling comes together best with frozen spinach, however, you can use wilted fresh spinach if you like.
Peas, Herbs & Greens Tart
gluten-free | nut-free
serves 8
for the pastry:
3 tbsp ground flaxseed
½ cup water
150g / 1 cup sunflower seeds
35g / ¼ cup hemp hearts
50g / ¼ cup buckwheat groats
100g / 1 cup whole rolled oats
1 tsp herbs de provence
70g / ½ cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp oat milk
350g/ 2 ½ cup frozen green peas, defrosted
200g/ 1 ½ cup frozen spinach, defrosted
1 x 400g/14oz tin of cannellini beans, drained
olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
15g / 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
15g / ½ cup fresh dill
10g / ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
pinch of chilli flakes
zest of 1 lemon
100g / 3.5oz asparagus tips
6-8 radishes
decoration suggestions:
fresh herbs
radish or beetroot sprouts
edible flowers
nigella seeds
Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F. Grease a 28cm/11in loose-bottomed tart tin with olive oil and line the base with baking parchment.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseeds with ½ cup of water. Set aside to soak.
Toast the sunflower seeds and buckwheat groats in a dry pan over a low heat. Agitate and shake the pan continually to ensure even browning. Remove from the heat after a minute or so and add the seeds to a food processor.
Along with the seeds, add the oats, hemp hearts and herbs de provence to the food processor. Blitz on high to break up the seeds and oats into a rough flour. It won’t be super fine but you want to have a consistency of coarse sand.
Transfer the seed mix to a large bowl and stir through the buckwheat flour and salt.
Whisk the olive oil and oat milk into the soaked flaxseeds before adding the entire mix to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together to form a sticky dough.
Using damp hands, press the dough into the prepared tart tin, making sure it is evenly spread out and there are no bits that are too thick or thin. Trim the top before transferring the pastry case into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
Start preparing the filling by frying off the chopped onion in a little olive oil. Once soft and translucent, add them to a clean food processor along with the defrosted spinach and peas. Blitz for a minute on high.
Add the drained beans, fresh herbs, pepper,cumin, chilli, lemon zest and salt to the processor. Blitz again until you have a homogenous but rough hummus-like consistency. Taste and add more salt, chilli or lemon zest to taste.
Add the filling to your baked pastry case and spread out evenly.
Slice the asparagus in half lengthways and cut the radishes into quarters. Toss the prepared asparagus and radish in salt and olive oil before arranging on top of the tart. Gently press into the top of the filling.
Transfer the tart back to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes.
Once baked, allow to cool slightly before carefully removing from the tin and decorating with fresh herbs, flowers and seeds.
Hi! I’m Mhairi.
I am a plant-based chef specialising in catering for retreats and private events since 2018. I am very much inspired by nature and love to showcase the beauty and abundance of the edible plant world through my cooking.