Rustic Cherry Almond Tart

Rx: Cherries have consistently been found to help relieve pain in inflamed joints. The use of vegan butter, almonds, and whole wheat flours also give this recipe some added nutrition and much less refined flour and fat. Agave nectar is used in place of refined sugar.



Serves 8

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 C all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat pastry flour
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp lemon zest
1 stick (8 tbs) vegan butter, such as Earth Balance Vegan Butter Spread, cold and cut into 1/8 inch cubes
1 ½ tbs agave nectar
1 egg yolk
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 cup ice water

1 egg white, 1 tbs water and a handful of sliced or chopped almonds

Filling:
¼ C chopped almonds
¼ C chopped walnuts
3 tbs whole wheat pastry flour
3 C whole cherries, frozen or fresh
1/3 C agave nectar
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tsp water


Directions:

Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and a pinch of salt. Add the lemon zest and cubes of vegan butter. Cut in the butter until the cubes are incorporated throughout the flour and the butter pieces are now pea-sized.

In a separate bowl, combine agave nectar, almond extract, vinegar, egg yolk, and ice water. Using a fork, slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry. Make sure you drizzle the wet in slowly and evenly over all of the dry, not just one spot, or you will have a very soggy clump of dough and a lot of dry flour.

The dough should just begin to hold together at this point. If yours is still too dry, add more ice water, 1 tbs at a time. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and quickly shape into a ball. You want as little contact with the dough as possible so that you don’t melt the butter. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

In a medium-sized saucepan, put cherries, agave nectar, almond extract, and cornstarch. Bring to a simmer and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the cherries are soft and are giving a lot of juice. If you are using frozen cherries, you may have more juice than with fresh. Once the cherry mixture is done, strain through a large sieve over a bowl. You want to separate the cherries from the juice, but save both.

In a food processer, combine chopped almonds, chopped walnuts, and whole wheat pastry flour. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 F

Remove dough from fridge and place on a floured surface. Press down with your hands to flatten, then roll out with a pin until you have a round flat of dough, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

In the middle of the dough, spread the nut and flour mixture, leaving a border of about 2 inches of dough on the outside. This mixture will keep the cherries from soaking through the dough and the tart from becoming soggy. On top of this mixture, spoon the cherries, but not the juice. Fold up the sides of the tart. It’s easiest to bring up one side first, then fold up the corners and continue all the way around. Brush the outside of the dough with the egg wash, then press the almonds against the wet dough and sprinkle a few on top. This will give your pastry a nice crunch. Place in the oven.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F for an additional 30 minutes.

When the tart is done baking, pull out of the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Drizzle the cherry juice over the cherries to create a sort of glaze.