Almond Plum Tart
Ingredients
9g /1.5 tbs Ground linseeds
(we used golden linseeds for a lighter colour pastry)
9g/1.5tbs Ground chia seeds
(we used white chia seeds for a lighter colour pastry)
2 large oranges (zest and 200ml of juice)
8 Medjool dates
80g Ground Almonds
50g Ground Hazelnuts
50g Cassava flour
60 ml Mild olive oil
0.5tsp sea salt
500g Red plums (firm/large)
1 vanilla pod or 2 tsps of vanilla extract
Method
You will need 2 baking sheets:
In advance ground the linseeds and chia seeds together in a coffee bean grinder or larger equal amounts in a blender and use 3 tbs/18g of the mixture for this recipe. Store the remainder in the fridge in an airtight container.
Preheat the oven to 170°c fan/338°F/ Gas Mark 5 with a baking tray placed on the lower middle shelf (turned upside down if it has sides).
Zest and juice the oranges. You will need 200 ml of juice (top up with water if short).
In a small bowl add the ground linseeds and chia seeds and 100 ml of orange juice. Mix well and set aside for a minimum of 15 minutes (this will make a thick paste).
Meanwhile chop 4 dates and add to a small saucepan together with the vanilla and 100ml of orange juice. Heat on the stove, bringing the juice up to the boil, mash the dates with a fork or potato masher and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, the liquid will evaporate very quickly (1-2 minutes) and the mixture will start to bubble, stir until a thick paste.
Next add the date paste and sliced plums into a pan, coat all of the plums in the paste. Then slowly heat, stir constantly, the plums should be coated in a jam like consistency, if the plums are very firm add 1 tbs of water. There should be very little/no liquid in the pan as the plums with give off liquid as they start to soften. Cook for approx 2 minutes, if the plums are quite tender they will need very little cooking, if they are firm and hard they will need to be cooked for a little longer, the plums should just be just soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a food processor add the ground almonds, ground hazelnuts, cassava flour, salt, orange zest and the 4 remaining dates. Pulse until the dates are chopped finely and distributed throughout the flour blend. Slowly add the olive oil into the linseed and chia seed mixture, whisking until well blended then add to the flours.
Pulse the blender a few times until the mixture comes together and turn out using a spatula onto lightly floured baking paper. The mixture should be sticky. Shape into a round and wrap in the baking paper. Chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer and using the same baking paper dusted with cassava flour lightly, roll out with a rolling pin also dusted with cassava flour. Roll into a thin large circle.The dough will roll out much better chilled so work quickly.
Trim the sides if necessary and prick the middle of the dough with a fork. Next arrange the plums in the middle (discarding any excess syrup to avoid soggy pastry).Then using the baking paper to help, fold up the sides of the dough over the plums leaving the middle exposed.
Take the hot baking tray out of the oven and immediately put the tart with baking paper on to it, use the sides of the baking paper to pick the tart up. Bake in the oven on the lower middle shelf for approximately 20-25 minutes until well browned. Then move the pie together with the baking tray down to the bottom shelf of the oven and put another baking tray on a higher shelf above the pie (leaving plenty of room between them) bake for a further 15-20 minutes. This helps the bottom of the pie to cook.
Remove from the oven and transfer the tart together with the baking paper to a wire rack and leave to cool. Serve warm or cold. Delicious with plant-based or coconut whipped cream.
