Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
 
Colorful Veggie Torte
 
If you’ve got brightly colored veggies and a little yeast and whole wheat flour, you can make a scrumptious, nutrient-packed torte, sure to bring smiles and make bellies happy. Here I’ve used beets, red onion, cauliflower, orange bell peppers, and purple sweet potatoes, but you can vary the veggie combination according to what’s in season and what’s on hand.  Delicious fare for family suppers and pretty enough for a party.
 
Prep time 3 hours                          Bake time   60 minutes                         Servings 6-8
 
Ingredients
 
Dough
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup unchlorinated water, body temp
2 cups white whole wheat flour plus more for dusting board and kneading
 
White Sauce
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 quart unsweetened almond milk
¼” freshly ground nutmeg
Large pinch white ground pepper
Sea salt to taste (optional)
 
Veggies
3 beets, peeled, sliced, steamed
1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets, steamed
2 large purple sweet potatoes, cut in batons, steamed
1 orange bell pepper, cut in strips
1 large red onion, peeled, sliced
 
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
Ground white pepper, to taste
Sea salt (optional) to taste
 
Garnish with microgreens
 
Directions
 
Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C
 
 
Create Dough
Pour warm water over yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Allow 10 minutes to activate yeast. Slowly add flour, mixing with a silicon spatula or spoon to achieve a sticky, uniform, shaggy dough. Cover and wait 20 minutes, then transfer to a floured board. Knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to avoid excessive sticking.  Lightly flour and return to bowl. Cover with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap and allow to double in size at room temperature -- about 2 hours.
 
Dry Sauté Onion
In a skillet dry sauté onion over medium heat until its sugars carmelize and begin to darken pan. Deglaze with a bit of water. Set aside
 
Make White Sauce
Combine white sauce ingredients in a blender, run until smooth. Cook in a saucepan, whisking continually until sauce becomes as smooth and dense as, say, Greek yogurt. Remove from heat. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools and we want it to be thick enough to hold the torte layers together yet spread easily.  Correct seasonings as desired.
 
Compose the Torte
With a dough scraper, transfer dough to a lightly floured board. Divide in thirds and keep covered to prevent drying out. Roll out one third to 1/8” thick rectangle. Trim to fit a 9x13” baking pan, lined with parchment if metal. No need if the baking pan is pyrex or ceramic.
 
In the pyrex baking dish lay down a base dough layer, stretching to fit in corners. Trim excess dough. Layer on  ½ the vegetables and ⅓ the sautéed onions. Generously spoon white sauce to cover veggies completely. Season to taste.  Repeat.  Cover with the third dough layer as before. Cover generously with white sauce, season. Strew remaining onions on top.
 
Cover loosely with parchment paper and bake for 45-50 minutes. When the contents are bubbling actively, remove parchment and bake for final 5-10 minutes or until top is golden.  Remove to a cooling rack. Allow to cool 15 minutes for the white sauce to congeal for easier cutting and neater plating. 
 
Plate on warmed dishes. Garnish generously with microgreens, and watch it disappear.