This delightful and delicious pie provides the perfect showcase for seasonal organic strawberries. The filling is so creamy you will not believe it’s based in raw cashews and tofu. Easy to assemble and super yummy!
Strawberry Mountain Pie Recipe
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
Crust:
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan cookie crumbs or vegan graham cracker crumbs (see note)
• 3 to 5 heaping tablespoons sesame tahini
• 1-1/2 tablespoons nondairy milk
Filling:
• 16 ounces extra-firm regular tofu
• 8 ounces soft silken tofu
• 1⁄3 cup raw cashews
• 1⁄3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegan white sugar or your preferred dry sweetener
Topping:
• 16 ounces organic strawberries
• 2 tablespoons strawberry preserves
• 2-1/2 teaspoons filtered or spring water
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. To make the crust, put the cookie crumbs, 3 heaping tablespoons tahini and 1-1⁄2 tablespoons nondairy milk in a medium-sized bowl and combine using a large fork or dough blender. Add more tahini until the crumbs are moistened, but still crumbly in texture (up to 5 heaping tablespoons of tahini in all). Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 minutes. Put the pie plate on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
3. While the crust cools, put the extra-firm regular tofu, silken tofu, cashews and sugar in a blender and process until smooth. Pour the tofu mixture over the cooled crust. Spread in an even layer and smooth the top.
4. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top of the pie is slightly firm to the touch (center of the filling will still be very soft). Put the pan on a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes.
5. While the pie bakes, trim 1⁄8- to 1⁄4-inch off the wide end of each strawberry. Then, when the pie is out of the oven but still warm, arrange the strawberries, flat end down, in a pleasing pattern on top of the pie, gently pressing the end of each strawberry into the filling so it stands upright. Put the preserves and water in a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Spread the preserves evenly over the top of the strawberries using a pastry brush or small spoon.
6. Refrigerate 4 to 8 hours before serving. Carefully cut the pie into slices (the filling will be soft). Stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, leftover pie will keep for about 2 days.
Chef’s Note: To make cookie crumbs, put 1-1⁄2 to 2 cups of broken-up vegan cookies in a blender, and process to coarse crumbs. Add more cookies, as needed, to make the amount of crumbs needed for this recipe.
Amount per serving, based on 8 servings: 166 Calories; 6g Fat; 1g Saturated fat; 7g Protein; 57mg Sodium; 23g Total Carbohydrate; 12g Sugars; 2g Fiber
Recipe taken from Laura Theodore’s Vegan-Ease. Reproduced with kind permission of Laura Theodore.
Laura Theodore is a 2014 TASTE award-winning television personality, radio host, vegan chef, cookbook author and recording artist. She is author of Jazzy Vegetarian Classics: Vegan Twists on American Family Favorites and Jazzy Vegetarian: Lively Vegan Cuisine Made Easy and Delicious. Laura is the on-camera host, writer and co-producer of the popular cooking show, Jazzy Vegetarian and hosts the weekly podcast radio show, Jazzy Vegetarian Radio. Visit Laura on Facebook and follow her on Twitter for daily recipes and tips for serving delicious, plant-based meals.