Maggie Beer’s Kale and pinenut tart with chickpea crust and lemon crème fraiche

One of Australia’s best-loved cooks, Maggie Beer shares one of her favourite spring recipes with Australian Carers Guide

Maggie Beer’s tart offers a delightful fusion of earthy greens, nutty richness, and zesty creaminess in every delicious bite.

Prep time | 30 minutes  Cook time |  30 minutes  Season | Autumn, Spring Serves | 6 people

TIP | Make ahead and freeze raw, simply defrost on trays and bake on the day

CHICKPEA CRUST INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups cooked chickpeas (135g dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight, cooked)

35g brown rice flour

2 Tablespoons Cornflour

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup Extra Virgin olive oil

FOR THE FILLING

¾ cup currants

½ cup verjuice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

40g butter

4 round shallots

½ tsp crushed garlic

¼ cup verjuice

½ cup pine nuts- toasted

1 Tablespoon preserved lemon rind- finely chopped

2 bunches cooked kale

4 eggs

Sea salt and pepper

¾ cup sour cream

TO GARNISH

100g crème fraiche

100ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup reserved verjuice soaked currants

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

MAGGIE BEER’S METHOD

1 Soak the currants in ½ cup (125 ml) of the Verjuice overnight to soften. Alternatively, place the currants and verjuice in a microwave-safe container and microwave on low for 4 minutes, then set aside for 20 minutes to reconstitute.

2 Drain and rinse the soaked chickpeas. Place in a medium sized saucepan and cover with 4 times the amount of water to chickpeas. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for 30minutes or until tender (not falling apart). Skim any foam that rises to the top of the pan off. Once cooked drain well and set aside to cool.

3 Pre heat a fan forced oven to 180c.

4 Place the pine nuts on a tray and roast for 6 minutes or until golden.

5 Place the chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. In a bowl combine the brown rice flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder, add to the food processor with the chickpeas, pulse. Add the olive oil and just bring together, turn mix onto the bench and shape into a rectangle 20x10cm.

6 Grease 35cmx 13cm rectangular non-stick fluted tart dish, place the rectangular shaped crust inside and press evenly across the base and up the sides of the pan.

Once the tart base is evenly covered with the crust, place into the pre heated oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until light golden. Don’t be tempted to cook too long as the pastry will start to crack.

7 Meanwhile, blanch the kale in a large saucepan of boiling water for 5–10 minutes or until softened (the cooking time will depend on how coarse the kale is). Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle, then squeeze excess water from the leaves and roughly chop.

8 Melt the butter with the Oil in a large frying pan. Add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, over low–medium heat for 5 minutes or until softened. Increase the heat to high, then add ¼ cup verjuice and cook, stirring, until the verjuice has evaporated.

9 Transfer this mixture to a food processor, add the chopped kale and any remaining liquid and blend to a puree.

10 Place the kale puree, ½ cup of the verjuice soaked currants, ¼ cup of the toasted pine nuts and Preserved Lemon in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

11 In a small jug, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, salt and pepper, then stir into the kale mixture.

12 Carefully pour the filling into the tart shell and bake for 25 minutes or until just set in the centre.

13 Remove from the tin, slice a piece approximately 6cm across and place on the plate. Serve straightaway scattered with a few extra pine currants, a generous tablespoon of crème fraiche and a drizzle of Extra Virgin olive oil.

For more recipes from Maggie Beer visit Maggie Beer’s website.