Baked Vegetable Medley

Vegetarian Times Issue: January 1, 2003   p.22

Ingredients

Serves 4

• One 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shell
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 large leek, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 bunch kale, shredded
• 2/3 cup chunky seasoned tomato sauce
• 11/2 cups artichoke hearts, drained
• 6 oz. smoked tofu, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup grated low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Reserve strips of leek for garnish.
2. Bake pie shell until golden, about 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Remove from oven, and set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450F.
3. Heat olive oil in large skillet over med-ium heat. When hot, sauté leek and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add kale and tomato sauce, stirring often, and cook until kale wilts and leeks are translucent. Add artichoke hearts.
4. Fill baked pie shell, and arrange tofu pieces decoratively on top. Sprinkle grated cheese over top, and bake 5 minutes more. Increase oven temperature to broil, and heat until cheese browns, about 1 minute.

Wine Suggestions
Matching this tart with wine presents an interesting, but not insurmountable, challenge. Most of the ingredients are super wine-friendly, but for different reasons. The leeks, garlic, kale, smoked tofu and cheese would pair with a smoky wine. The tomatoes and artichokes call for a wine with a bit of acid. Combine these objectives. Try an Italian Chianti Classico.