This vegan broccoli cake recipe is perfect for lovers of contrasts in food, as it combines salty, sweet, sour and spicy in one dish. It is a simple recipe but full of flavor, which consists of a cake, a kind of pizza, puff pastry with broccoli, cheese (I used vegan cheese), dried tomatoes and a rich and slightly spicy date and tamarind sauce. Keep reading and discover how to make a broccoli and cheese cake in the oven.
Ingredients to make Baked Broccoli Cheese Pie (vegan friendly):
• 1 sheet of puff pastry
• 1 cup of broccoli
• 1 piece of vegan cheese
• 3 dried tomatoes
• 1 pinch of sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon chopped coriander
For the sauce
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• ¼ cup of tamarind pulp
• 1 cup of chopped dates
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon minced ginger
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
How to make Baked Broccoli Cheese Pie (Vegan Friendly):
Cut the dried tomatoes into small pieces and separate the broccoli into florets. Cut the vegan cheese into thin slices or grate it. To make your own cheese, check out my vegan chickpea cheese recipe.
Trick: In this case, the vegan cheese that I used did not melt, so I think the best option is to grate the cheese.
Prepare the date and tamarind sauce. Mix the vegetable broth, the tamarind pulp, the dates, the sugar, the garlic, the ginger, the cumin, the chili, the sugar and the salt in a pot. Heat the pot, bring it to a boil and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Then, let it cool down a bit, pour the mixture into the blender glass and blend until you have a smooth sauce. Add a little more broth or water if the sauce is too thick.
Tip: The amount of sauce that comes out of the recipe exceeds the amount needed to prepare this dish, so you can keep the sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge and use it in other preparations.
Grease a round baking pan. Stretch the puff pastry a little and adjust it to the mold forming edges of 1-1.5 centimeters. Top with broccoli, cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes and spoon several tablespoons of sauce on top.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and bake the vegan broccoli cheesecake until the puff pastry is set. Serve the baked broccoli cheesecake with some chopped fresh cilantro and a sprinkling of sesame seeds sprinkled on top.
