Chickpea Spanikopita
Why I Love This Recipe
Vegan, raw version of spanikopita.
Ingredients You'll Need
Chick pea crust:
1 3/4 cups chickpeas for sprouting (yields 2 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup parsley leaves
3 Tbsp raw tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp sea salt
Vegetable layers:
4 cups hopped spinach
1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch sea salt
2 avocados
3-4 tomatoes, sliced
Lemon-tahini sauce:
1/4 cup raw tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
juice of 1 orange
2 tsp lemon zest
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp nama shoyu
1 soft date, pitted
pinch sea salt
Garnish (optional):
1/4 cup chopped black olives
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
Directions
To make the chickpea crust:
Sprout the chickpeas.
In a food processor, finely chop garlic and parsley.
Add sprouted chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and lemon zest and blend until smooth.
Season with sea salt.
Press the chickpea mixture into a 10-inch pie plate or into a 10-inch round, flat patty on a platter.
Dehydrate at 108 degrees for 12-20 hours or until the crust has a crunchy texture.
Prepare vegetable layers:
Toss together the spinach, zucchini, fresh herbs (set aside a pinch or two for garnish), oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt.
Evenly distribute the spinach-zucchini mixture in the bottom of the crust or spread evenly over the flat crust.
Slice the avocados and layer evenly over the spinach-zucchini mixture.
Press to form a neat layer.
Layer tomato slices on the avocados.
Garnish if desired.
To make the tahini-lemon sauce:
Blend tahini, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest, garlic, nama shoyu, and date until smooth. Season with sea salt.
This sauce should be thick but pourable.
Add a little water if necessary to blend to desired consistency.
Serve in a dipping cup on the side.
