We receive this monthly (I think?) magazine from the people at Presidents Choice called Fresh Juice, and within this magazine are scrumptious recipes. I laid eyes on this particular picture of a beet pie or tart. It look so vibrantly purple and delicious. How could I not make it?
The lighting wasn't great, but the food WAS. This is my version of the Purple Velvet Beet Tart :)
The crust was gluten free (part of the recipe) and the filling used agave nectar, which I've never actually tried but heard so much about. My Nana was in town, so we set off to the grocery store, list in hand, and made it back with all the necessary ingredients.
Purple Velvet Beet Tart (serves ~12)
Gluten Free Crust
1.5 cups almond meal/flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tbsp organic coconut oil
2 tbsp liquid honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Beet Filling
2.5 cups roughly chopped, cooked, peeled beets
1 cup agave nectar
4 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 tbsp orange zest (mmmmmm)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Begin by mixing together the almond meal, flaxseed and potato starch in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and slowly add in 1/4 cup of water (I think I used the whole 1/4 cup) until it forms a slighly moist, malleable dough. Press into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 inch pie pan. Bake for about 12 minutes until lightly browned.
Now onto the filling! Cook the beets however works best for you - just make sure you are left with skinned, cooked beets. Place the beets into a food processor and puree with the agave until smooth. Add everything else in and blend until smooth.
Pour the batter into the shell and bake on the center rack for about 45 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles when you shake it in the oven (gently....). Wait for it to cool (about 1 hour) and then serve with whatever toppings you'd like! We whipped some cream (a rare occasion in our house!), blueberries and sliced strawberries. It was delish!
Oh and don't forget to artfully sift some cocoa powder over your creation ;)
