Sunday, October 22, 2006

Lemon Tart & Vegan Croatian Feast

This evening we had our Yoga Book Club meeting, and I always bake something yummy for the group. Today I decided to make the Lemon Tart with Toasted Almond Crust from "The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen." I really love this recipe, and I've made it before a few times. It's really quick and easy, and very tasty. Also, the crust is very easy ... a good crust for any tart. I used the extra filling to fill up some custard cups. We ate it all except for one piece! Incidentally, this time around we were reading "The Essential Gandhi" ... writing from Mahatma Gandhi, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is incredibly inspiring.
For dinner tonight I wanted to make some vegan Croatian recipes that I found online. This one was called "Vegetarian Croatian Casserole"... although it turned out to be a big mess of tasty veggies boiled in their own juices. Quite simple, but quite nice. It had garlic, eggplant, onions, zucchini, yellow crooknecks, tomatoes, bell peppers, and parsely & basil. Pretty nice.
And! Hoorah! Some of you might remember that I mentioned a delicious chard & potato dish that I had in Croatia... I found a recipe online - and it was perfect! I'll share my slight modifications here:
1 bunch chard (white stems)
2 large potatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 t olive oil
salt & pepper

Peel potatoes, and cut into 1-inch dice. Cut stems off chard and dice. Roughly chop the chard.

Bring a pot of salty water to a boil. Put in the potatoes & chard stems for about 8-10 minutes. Add the chard & boil another 5 minutes.

While these are boiling, saute the garlic until lightly golden in the olive oil. Set aside.

Scoop out 1 c. of the boiling water, set aside.

Drain the potatoes & chard. Take out some/most of the cooked potatoes & mash them in a bowl with the water & the garlic-oil combo, to make a thick saucy paste. Stir in the remaining chard & potatoes & mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This is such a simple and very tasty dish!!! Enjoy!

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:08 AM

    Wow, that lemon tart is so pretty! It sounds so so good with the toasted almond crust! I like how you had extra for the little custard cups too! :) Did the pie hold together when sliced? That always makes me nervous that it will be too runny and not gel nicely!

    The veggies look great! I love that chard recipe too. Garlic and chard together...and potatoes sound perfect!!

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  2. Anonymous9:05 AM

    Tart looks so good that it should be illegal.

    I've never had Croatian food, but your post makes me want some NOW.

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  3. Anonymous11:24 AM

    is the lemon tart a sweet or savory dish? It looks so simple and elegant...

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  4. Hi Everyone!

    Candi, the lemon tart has a great texture, and it's actually quite firm, so it holds its texture perfectly, even at room temperature for hours. It has arrowroot & agar flakes in it, and together they create a firm, smooth texture. Not runny at all. I keep toying with the idea of trying it with orange juice and also with lime. And maybe with decorating with a little chocolate on the orange version? hm!

    Hi Urban Vegan,
    The Croatian food is really nice actually. Our experience when we were travelling there is that it's quite simple, and as a result you really taste each flavor. These were really easy recipes & quite tasty!

    Hi Jess,
    The lemon tart is a sweetie. It's got lemon juice, coconut milk (I used light), sugar, lemon zest, agar flakes, arrowroot, water, & turmeric (for color) in it. It's really great. And the crust is made with ww pastry flour, ground toasted almonds, maple syrup and oil or melted Earth Balance. It really is such a simple recipe, and it only takes about 1.5 hours to firm up, and it looks so beautiful.

    :) Amey

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  5. Anonymous7:12 AM

    Hi Amey, I agree with everyone, this post has such gorgeous-looking foods! A lemon tart could really hit the spot right now (for breakfast) ;-) As I've gotten older, I have much more of a taste for tart and sweet desserts. I think your ideas of experimenting with oranges and limes sound fabulous!
    Oh, and I answered your question on my blog- I'm not an artist, but I'm a grad. student in art history, so I get to teach it.
    Have a great day!

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  6. this tart looks super yum! Mmmmm... I enjoyed reading your article about yoga and relationships on yoga.com and had a look on your website and the vegetarianism section. Looks great!! Will have to read some of your yoga texts ;)

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  7. Anonymous6:27 PM

    Yum, looking forward to making that chard and potato dish soon -- a good use for the garden chard and seems like a nice winter dish.

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  8. Hi Bazu,
    I'll be sure to post if I do some orange and lime experimentations with this recipe. I've been enjoying the pudding cups for dessert, it's a nice, light treat. Also, cool to know that you are an art history person! I am also an artist (http://www.yogawithamey.com/worldleaders)... in addition to teaching yoga.

    Hi Rita!
    Thanks for the nice comment, I'm glad to hear that you liked that essay. I enjoyed exploring that topic in my classes, and also writing up that essay.

    Hi Jen,
    Good to hear from you! I'm considering growing a winter garden... probably some chard too! I really can't overemphasize enough how tasty that chard & potato recipe is. It's so good!

    love Amey

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  9. Anonymous12:58 PM

    We had this potato and chard dish in Croatia too and we were just talking about it last night actually...it was so delicious.. Thanks for the reminder and I think I"ll make it soon!!
    Jill

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  10. Hi,
    I made this tart back in April for Easter and it was great. My wife and I decorated it with some sliced mango's and strawberries and then brushed the top with some simple syrup. It was delicious and my family who are not Vegan loved it. They loved it so much in fact that they are wanting me to make it for my grandfathers birthday party on Saturday. I can't find the recipe though!!!! AHHH! Please, can you tell me where to get this recipe again?

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  11. Hi Amey,

    I had to comment to let you know I made the potato/chard dish tonight because we love it so much. I realize it's been years since you posted this recipe and M. and I have been loving it for that long!

    xo

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