About a month ago we had dinner with our friends Ruthie and Forrest, and Ruthie made this kale tart. While we were eating it she totally talked it down, saying how it wasn’t as good as it normally was and she had to leave out the cranberries, etc., but I loved it. So much so that I was thinking about it for days afterward and asked for the recipe. I’ve made it twice in the past week and am still surprised by how good it is. I feel like I’ve discovered something revolutionary in the crust, made from almond flour, oil, minced scallion, salt, and baking soda; it’s supremely savory. The filling is chopped steamed kale, shallot, buttery pine nuts, and sweet dried cranberries, set up with eggs. For me, this is the perfect lunch.
Tuscan kale as opposed to curly is the better choice here; its leaves are more tender and will wilt faster in the steamer, although I suppose you could try using curly kale if you tear it into very small pieces first.
The original recipe called for 3 cups of kale, which weighed in at about 1.6 ounces when I measured it out, which seemed like a puny amount (my measuring could’ve been flawed, but squishy things like kale should really be measured by weight). Sure enough, the finished tart left me wanting a thicker layer of kale, so I used 3 ounces the second time around. The recipe also calls for grapeseed oil in the crust, which I thought I had but didn’t, so I used sunflower. The second time I used olive oil. Both were great, but I think I actually liked the olive a bit better. I’ll go out on a limb and tell you to use whatever oil you want.
This is a great thing to have in the fridge, as they say. It would also be right at home on the Thanksgiving table, especially if you’re needing something for guests avoiding gluten and/or dairy. It’s also super easy to pull together (did I mention that?). You’ll be grateful to have it in your repertoire.
Gluten-Free Kale Tart, adapted from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
Ingredients:
For the crust
- 1 1/2 cups (6.5 oz) almond flour/almond meal (I used blanched but I suspect you could use with skins, too)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 scallion (white and green parts), minced
- 1/4 cup neutral oil like grapeseed or sunflower, or olive oil
- 1 Tbsp water
- 3 oz stemmed kale, torn into smallish (2-inch) pieces
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 medium shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, salt, baking soda, and scallion. Switch to a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and add the oil and water, stirring until the mixture is uniformly moist. Press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate (no need to butter or oil the plate). Bake for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool for about 15 minutes before adding the filling.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. Steam the kale for 2 to 3 minutes, until bright green. (I did this in a colander set over a saucepan of simmering water, which I covered with the pot lid, but use a steamer basket if you have one.)
- Add the kale, salt, and sliced shallot to a food processor and finely chop (you could also chop by hand, then add the salt with the rest of the filling ingredients). Combine the kale mixture with the eggs, dried cranberries, and pine nuts, mixing well to combine. Pour the filling into the baked pie shell and bake for 20 minutes, until set. Let cool before cutting into. Keeps very well in the fridge for about 5 days.
Tags: almond flour, almond meal, gluten, kale, pine nuts, tart
Drooling…but can’t use the eggs. Does it work without eggs?
Hi to you and Jason
Larry
Larry, you’d need some sort of binder to take the place of the eggs (a little pumpkin puree?? or tomato paste, and omit the cranberries?), otherwise the filling will just loosely sit on top of the tart shell like pizza topping…which might be just fine! Let me know if you try it.