Vegan Tart

• 180 g dry brown lentils (450 g cooked weight)
• 2 bay leaves
• A dash of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 2 sheets of vegan puff pastry (no butter)
• 140 g carrot (approx. 1 carrot)
• 100 g onions (approx. 1 onion)
• 1 garlic clove
• 200 g smoked tofu
• 10 g powdered porcini mushroom
• 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
• 50 ml white wine
• 40 g shelled hazelnuts
• Salt, pepper
• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons of plant-based milk

1. Cook the lentils with the bay leaves in a pan of unsalted water. Cook for the time specified on the packet. Check that the lentils are well cooked. Drain and leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
3. Prepare the pot by brushing it with oil and sprinkling with flour. Use your hands to roll out the puff pastry inside the pot, pressing it against the edges so that it fits the shape of the pot. Place in the fridge.
4. Peel and chop the carrots, onion and garlic.
5. Pour the cooked lentils, cubed tofu, powdered porcini, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato paste, parsley, wine, hazelnuts, salt and pepper into your mixer bowl. Blend on the pulse setting so that the filling still contains some pieces and is not a purée.
6. Spread the filling carefully and evenly over the puff pastry in the pot.
7. Fold the edges of the pastry towards the centre to encase the filling. Brush the edges of the pie with water to help to seal it.
8. Use a sharp knife to cut the second sheet of pastry into a circle the same size as the pie. Place the circle of pastry on the top. Carefully seal the edges by pressing them all down and use a knife to score a pattern on the top if you wish to decorate the pie.
9. Brush the top of the pie with a mixture of maple syrup and plant-based milk. Bake in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, checking regularly. The pie should be golden brown so adjust the cooking time if necessary. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for around 20 minutes before serving.

Tips:

• If you don’t have a blender, make this recipe by hand, using a potato masher or a fork to mash the mixture.
• If you don’t have much time, you can use precooked lentils in this recipe.
• Smoked tofu can be bought in organic stores or in some large supermarkets. If you can’t find any, replace it with firm plain tofu and use 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika to flavour it.
• The powdered porcini can be replaced with mushroom powder. If you can’t find any, you can use soy sauce instead.
• You can replace the white wine with vegetable stock.