Grilled Pesto Tart with Tomatoes

Summer’s here! It’s time to break out the grill and get cooking! Start your summer off with Grilled Pesto Tart with tomatoes. This easy vegan recipe is fun to serve at cookouts and barbecues, but it's great for weeknight dinner or weekend lunch.

Vegan Grilling

I’m actually not a big fan of summer. I know, I know—I’m weird. I just don’t do well in hot weather. The heat makes me cranky, I burn super easily, and don’t even get me started on mosquitos. One of the things I do really enjoy about the season, though, is cooking dinner on the grill in my backyard.

A few years ago, we bought our first house, and were delighted to find a propane-powered grill left behind the shed. It was a few years old, but it looked like it had only been used once. We gave it a good scrub, fired it up, and started cooking.

Some of my friends were surprised. “What kinds of food can vegans grill?” It should be more like “What kinds of foods can’t vegan’s grill?” because we were barbecuing just about everything we could get our hands on.

Grilled Pesto Tart with Tomatoes

A few years ago I received a copy of VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook, and I bookmarked just about every recipe. I had my eye on the Peppered Tofu Steaks, but the Grilled Veggie Subs also looked delicious. In the end I went with the Grilled Pesto Tart to start. I’m a total sucker for pizza with pesto, and I’ve wanted to cook a pizza on the grill for a long time. Plus, the grocery store had gorgeous heirloom tomatoes on sale.

What makes this dish a tart rather than a pizza is the base, which doesn’t include yeast, so it’s more of a flat bread than a crust. I loved this dish. The combination of herb pesto and juicy tomatoes is simply delicious.

Pizza is super easy to make on the barbecue with the help of a pizza stone, so I will definitely be grilling pizza again soon.

What You Need

• White spelt flour
• Olive oil 
• Salt
• Parsley
• Garlic
• Kalamata olives
• Pine nuts
• Nutritional yeast
• Tomatoes 

See the recipe card for exact amounts.

How to make Grilled Pesto Tart

This recipe is easy to make!

• First you make the the crust by mixing all of the ingredients together and then kneading it by hand for about 10 minutes. Then you should let the dough rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
• Next you heat the pizza stone on the grill.
• You make the pesto by combining all of the ingredients together in a food processor.
• Now you roll the dough out on a floured surface and then carefully lay it out on the pizza stone.
• You then spread the pesto out on the pizza and then place the sliced tomatoes on top. If you're using the optional asparagus, you can add it now, too. Finish your tart by adding a drizzle of olive oil.
• Finally, you grill your tart for about 15 minutes.

Recipe Note

The recipe calls for ¼ cup of water, which I found wasn’t enough to make a dough. I ended up adding more water, ¼ at a time, until it reached a dough-like consistency.

Asparagus or parsnips can be added to your tart, if you like.

VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook

If you’re like my friends and you’re not sure what can be cooked on the barbecue, you’re in luck, because VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook by Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer is here to help!

Veggie-grilling newbies will find the information in VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook invaluable. It’s loaded with information about grills, grilling accessories, and cooking vegan food on the grill. If you have a question about vegan barbecuing, VBQ has the answer.

Once you have your grill and you’re ready to cook, you’re ready to dig into VBQ’s recipes. You’ll find recipes for everything like the standard burger and skewer barbecue fare to things you might not have thought to cook on the grill, such as pizza and salad. (Yes, salad!) Marinades, sauces, and rubs are included too, of course.

Chapters in VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook include:

• About Barbecuing
• How to Barbecue Vegan Style
• Burgers, Sandwiches & Patties
• Steaks, Sausages & Skewers
• Vegetables—Stuffed, Grilled & Braised
• Pizzas, Wraps & Co.
• Salads—From the Grill… or Otherwise
• Sauces & Basics
• Bread & More

If you’re vegan and you plan on grilling this summer, or if you’re a grilling buff and you want to add more plant-based meals into your diet, you need VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook! 

Grilled Pesto Tart (with assorted tomatoes)

Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer

Summer's almost here! It's time to break out the grill and get cooking. Start your summer with Grilled Pesto Tart with Assorted Tomatoes from VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook.

This recipe makes 1 tart or 4 servings.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 servings

Calories 766 kcal

Ingredients

  

For the tart crust

• 4¼ cups white spelt flour (500 g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the herb pesto

• 1 bunch parsley
• 4 garlic cloves
• 6 Kalamata olives pitted
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil (75 ml)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the topping

• 1 pound assorted tomatoes (500 g)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

 

• For the tart crust, mix all the ingredients with ¼ cup (60 ml) water, stirring with a wooden spoon. Knead the dough well by hand for 10 minutes on a floured work surface. Put the dough in a bowl, cover and rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the pizza stone.
• For the pesto, combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
• Roll the dough out on a floured work surface into a disk 2 mm thick, lay it on the preheated pizza stone and spread with the pesto.
• Slice the tomatoes, lay them over the tart crust and drizzle well with the oil.
• Place the pizza stone on the grill, close the lid and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 12 to 15 minutes.

Notes

Tip: In spring you can top this with fresh green asparagus, and this pesto tart goes wonderfully with pieces of black salsify or parsnip in autumn and winter.

 

Recipe from VBQ: The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook © Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer, 2018. Photographs copyright © Nadine Horn and Jörg Mayer. Illustrations copyright © Nessa Horn. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold. theexperimentpublishing.com

More Grilled Recipes You Might Enjoy Include

• Grilled Tempeh Salad with Peaches and Pistachios 
• Lemon-Rosemary Grilled Tofu Sandwich
• Grilled Summer Vegetables with Easy Romesco Sauce
• Grilled Wedge Salad

More Recipes Made with Pesto Include

• Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms
• Zucchini Noodles with Spinach Pesto
• Pesto Pasta
• Potatoes, Pesto, and Arugula Pizza