This recipe was created by my chef student, Ingrida Jurkeviciute and featured on the Veganuary website.

Prep time - 45 minutes

Cook time - 35 minutes

Difficulty - Medium

Serves / makes - 4 individual tarts

Ingredients

125g Doves gluten free plain flour

1/2tsp salt

30g baby spinach

30g margarine

4tbsp water

1tbsp sunflower oil

2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely chopped

170g butternut squash, peeled and finely chopped

30g walnuts, finely chopped

1tbsp tamari

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2tsp fresh sage, finely chopped

1/2tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

¼-1/2tsp ground nutmeg

100g silken tofu

3tbsp plant milk + a little for a glaze

1tbsp cornflour

1tbsp stock powder

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

Equipment

Bowl

Hand blender

Rolling pin

Bowl to cut round

Tree cookie cutter

Fork

Large frying pan

Whisk

Pastry brush

Method

1. Heat your oven to 180c/360f/GM4.

2. Put the flour and salt in a bowl, mix well. Put the spinach, margarine and water in a jug, blend, with a hand blender, until smooth. Add the spinach mixture to the flour, mix into a dough. If it is too sticky add more flour. 

3. Roll out the dough to 5mm thickness. Cut out 4 circles of dough and 4 trees. Place the circles into the tart tins ensuring the dough goes up the sides. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and prick the bottom with a fork. Bake the tart base for around 10 minutes until they have dried out. 

4. In a large frying pan heat the oil on a medium heat. Once hot, add the shallots and squash, cook for 8-12 minutes until the shallots are translucent. Add the walnuts, tamari, vinegar, sage, rosemary and nutmeg. Take the pan off the heat. 

5. Whisk the tofu, milk, cornflour and stock in a small bowl. Add this to the pan and mix in. Divide this mixture between the tart bases. Top each tart with a tree, brush a little milk onto each tree and the tart edges. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes until cooked through. 

6. Top each tart with half a tomato before serving.