Louise Huynh

4 March 2021

Caramelised Carrot Tart w/ Carrot Top Pesto

“Caramelised carrot and pesto tart; this delicious vegan recipe really celebrates the humble carrot in its entirety. Gorgeously sweet carrots roasted in maple syrup, with a herby pesto made with carrot tops on a pastry tart.

Not a fan of carrots? Replace the carrots with any of your favourite veggies such as parsnips or sweet potatoes. You may need to adjust cooking time. No carrot tops? Use a mixture of your favourite herbs! Store in the fridge and simply pop in the oven to reheat”.

-  by guest ODDBOX chef Storm @whatstormeats

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Total time: 55 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 ready rolled puff pastry

100 g Vegan cream cheese

8 Carrots

2 tbsp Maple syrup

Olive oil

Paprika

Milk of choice (for glazing)

For the pesto:

20 g Carrot tops

20 g Vegan cheese (hard)

15 g Mixed dried nuts (any type)

100 ml Olive oil

1 Garlic clove

10 ml Lemon juice

Recipe:

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge for at least 30 minutes ahead of cooking.
  2. Slice the carrots in half (no need to peel!) and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup, paprika and sea salt. Ensure that all the carrots are coated evenly. Pop in an oven for approximately 20 minutes until cooked. Remove and set aside to cool.
  3. Make the pesto by combining carrot tops, grated cheese, garlic and nuts in a food processor. Once chopped, add olive oil, lemon juice and season.
  4. Roll out the puff pastry sheet on a baking tray. With a sharp knife, score a border, being careful not to cut through to the other side. Prick the base of the pastry and then brush with non-dairy milk. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 until golden.
  5. Remove the pastry from the oven and press the middle down of the tart with a spoon. Splodge the cream cheese and half pesto around the tart base.
  6. Place the carrots on top of the tart, drizzle with a little olive oil before popping back in the oven for 5 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Serve the extra pesto on the side, or leave to cool.
A slice of Caramelised Carrot Tart with a bowl of carrot top pesto
Olive oil being drizzled over halved carrots in a baking tray.
Pesto after the ingredients were blitzed in the food processor.
Puff pastry rolled across a baking tray, with a knife scoring a border around it.
Cream cheese and pesto splodged around a prebaked tart base.
The tart served with a bowl of pesto on the side.