Vegan Tart with Roasted Tomatoes and Arugula Pesto, sure beats the usual Friday night pizza!
Crazy weather, am I right, South Jersey? Maybe it’s typical, but I sure don’t remember a lot of 70 degree days in November… I mean, I was planning on digging up my tomato plants this past weekend, but how could I when they are still yielding this?
November tomatoes!!
I picked these yesterday! November 3rd! Um, thank you global warming? Anyway, when life hands ya tomatoes, why not cook up a little Vegan Tart with Roasted Tomatoes and Arugula Pesto? The roasted tomato recipe I adapted from my beautiful sister-in-law’s recipe for Tomato Caramel. You can find this recipe and a ton of other wonderful (non-vegan but adaptable!) recipes on Subee’s Kitchen.
ready for roasting
Roasting tomatoes really concentrates that tomato flavor, bringing out a robust lip-smacking sweetness. I poured the lot on a baking sheet along with a few unpeeled garlic cloves, drizzled on olive oil and a few shakes of sea salt.
These tomatoes roast for about 40 minutes, but I leave them in the turned-off oven for an additional hour so they really carmelize. Maybe you can see the difference in these pictures. The top one I took at 40 minutes, the bottom an hour later. 
During this roastin’ and settin’ time, I made the arugula pesto and tart dough. Both are super easy and keep well in the fridge. I did these steps yesterday, but you can prepare the tomatoes, dough and pesto a few days in advance. This makes the eating night prep a snap.
This afternoon I rolled out and pre-baked the tart crust for 20 minutes. I think it would have been better in a tart pan -for aesthetic reasons 😉 – but it tasted great nonetheless.
stick a fork in this dough ‘fore it’s done
Unfortunately there was shrinkage…
but I think it gives the tart a little rustic charm. After the crust cooled for a few minutes, I “tarted” it up with a layer of the pesto!
a little arugula pesto makes this roasted tomato tart fancy
then some Daiya mozzarella shreds. 
Then the roasted tomatoes…
Another sprinking of cheese went on top and then this vegan tart was baked for 30 minutes. (I did cover the edges so the crust wouldn’t get too dark.) Served with a light salad, this dinner was a hit with my brother …are ya ever leaving Pete?? 😉 ??
- fresh tomatoes to cover a baking sheet I used 40 cherry tomatoes and a few green zebra and golden queen tomatoes
- 4-5 whole unpeeled garlic cloves
- olive oil to drizzle
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter cold and sliced
- 1/4 cup ice water
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 10 ounces arugula
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast see Sound Bites
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- salt to taste
- 2 cups vegan mozzarella (I used Diaya
- 1 cup sauteed mushrooms optional, but I love mushrooms...you can add peppers, onions, whatever you fancy
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You can prepare the tomatoes, tart dough and arugula pesto up to a few days before. If you do it all on the same day, leave time to let the tomatoes hang out in the oven.
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For the tomatoes:
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Preheat oven to 425.
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Cover baking sheet with foil and throw on tomatoes (cut the larger ones into chunks).
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Add garlic.
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Drizzle with olive oil and a few shakes of sea salt.
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Bake for 40 minutes, then leave in turned off oven for an hour.
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Remove from pan and (if not using right away) store in plastic container in the refrigerator.
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For the tart crust:
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Put all ingredients in food processor (EXCEPT FOR THE WATER)
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Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
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Pour over ice water a little at a time and pulse until mixture comes together.
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Turn mixture out onto lightly floured surface and knead into a ball.
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Flatten to a 6 inch disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours or overnight.
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For the pesto:
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In a running food processor, toss in the garlic cloves until finely chopped.
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Add arugula and process until well combined.
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Add nuts and process until a paste is formed.
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Add nutritional yeast and olive oil and process until smooth.
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Add salt to taste and store in air tight container in refrigerator.
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Tart Day!
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Preheat oven to 350 F.
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Take out dough and allow to come up in temperature for about 20 min.
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Roll dough out on lighlty floured surface to a diameter about 2 inchaes larger than tart or pie pan.
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Form to pan and allow edges to hand over. Fold edges under and pierce with fork as pictured.
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Bake until golden, about 20 min.
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Allow to cool a bit (so you don't burn yourself!) and spread on a layer of pesto.
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Sprinkle on a cup of shredded mozzarella.
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Add tomatoes (if there seems to be a lot of liquid, drain in strainer first)
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Sprinkle on mushrooms (or peppers/onions) if using
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Sprinkle on another cup of cheese.
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Bake for 30 minutes, covering edges if they get too brown.
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Sprinkle with a little vegan parm and serve.
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Roll
What the heck is nutritional yeast? Sadly named, this delicious, B-vitamin loaded ingredient is an inactive form of yeast made from sugar cane and beet molasses. It lends a cheesy, savory umami flavor to almost everything.It's amazing sprinkled on potatoes, popcorn and I use it in all my pesto recipes. Nutritional yeast... it's not just for vegans and hippies anymore!
Looks amazing, Cele! This might just spark my first foray into the world of nutritional yeast . . . (Which I agree with you — needs a better name!) And PS – hooray for November tomatoes!
Hey Sue! Thanks….come to the dark side! I guarantee you will become a fan of nooch!