cashews

Recipe of The Week: Italian Almond Tart

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I have been attempting to get myself back in the kitchen to cook up some new recipes from my pile of ideas. Finally last night I decided to try out one of my ideas for this wonderful and delicious tart filled with creamy white-bean cashew cheeze and sweet roasted tomatoes.

Italian Almond Tart 

with Cashew-White Bean Cheeze, Sauteed Summer Squash & Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Yields 8 Servings

Ingredients:

  • One large tart crust (recipe below)
  • Cashew-White Bean Cheeze
  • One medium summer squash, thinly sliced & sauteed in olive oil for 4-5 minutes
  • Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Greens, for garnish
For the Crust
  • 1 1/2 cups almond meal
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning (dried) or 1 TBSP fresh herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, thyme)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 TBSP water

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together the almond meal, salt, and Italian seasoning. In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil and water. Create a well in the almond meal mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture until  combined. Press the dough into a 9-inch tart pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for about 30 minutes.

For the Cheeze

  • One 15-oz can of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the ingredients; process until smooth.  You may need to add a little water to help the mixture combine; start with 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
For the Tomatoes
  • One pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
Preheat oven to 350F
Toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and place on a sheet pan.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

—
For the Tart

While the tomatoes are roasting, fill the cooled tart shell with the cashew-white bean cheeze.  Place in the 350F oven to warm for 10 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and top with the slices of sauteed summer squash.  Once the tomatoes have finished roasting remove them from the oven; place the oven roasted tomatoes on top of the tart.  Garnish with a handful of greens, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
This is delicious warm, cold or room temperature.

On the 9th Day….part 1

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Nuts+Nuts is sponsoring this morning’s giveaway– here is a little bit about Nuts+Nuts:

“The cashew nuts are purchased directly from the farmers and are cured with a unique and special family recipe to create delicious, freshly roasted snacks, using only natural ingredients and no preservatives. The gourmet cashews are packaged in unique handmade Indonesian packaging made of natural pandanus, wood bark, and banana bark- materials handmade by local communities in Java and Bali.

Nuts+Nuts hopes to foster the cashew nuts industry in Indonesia, providing the farmers with additional knowledge about agriculture and allowing their children to have a better education and a brighter future. Additionally, Nuts+Nuts aims to raise awareness about Lupus, a debilitating disease that affect 2 million Americans and provide support to Lupus patients, their families, and the search for a cure.” source

Cryilla will provide the winner with a : Variety Packs of Farm-Direct Gourmet Roasted Cashews.

Description of product & flavors:

Spicy with Lime Leaves and Garlic
Our spicy cashews are a blend of cut chilies, lime leaves and garlic, roasted for a delicious flavor of South East Asia. Not too hot, just enough spice to kick things up. One of our best seller.
Ingredients for spicy cashews:
Roasted cashews, chilies, lime leaves, garlic, sugar, salt, and coconut oil

Sweet & Salty
The combination of both flavors with a slight hint of garlic create an irresistible flavor sure to tantalize your tastebuds and crunch any craving.
Ingredients for sweet & salty:
Roasted cashews, garlic, sugar, salt, and coconut oil

Lighlty Salted
These delicious cashews have a mere hint of salt and garlic that enhance the natural taste of each cashew in every crunch.
Ingredients for lightly salted:
Roasted cashews, salt, garlic, and coconut oil

Each pack contains 2.1 oz of roasted cashews.

TO ENTER: This giveaway is open until December 10th at 6am. This giveaway is open to U.S.  Residents-except Hawaii and Alaska.

The Winner is:

1. Visit the Nuts+Nuts site and tell me something you learned about the company and/or product. (required)

Additional Chances to win (PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY; also if you already do any of these ie. follow me on twitter/facebook, ect it counts so leave a comment).

  1. Follow Nuts+Nuts on Twitter.
  2. Follow me on Twitter.
  3. Tweet about this giveaway “I want to win @cookveganlover @nutsplusnuts Giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-1iq”