Raw Avocado and Wild Garlic Tart

Scenario number 1: I invite people for dinner. I cook vegetarian food. Lots of it. 5 appetizers, soup, 2 main vegetable dishes with rice and 2 little ones (butter – roasted mushrooms and grilled zucchini usually), salad and desert. People look at the food a little confused at the beginning, they get accustomed to the taste, they eat, they eat more, a lot more, complimenting the food. Then the discussion starts. The whys and the hows and the reallys, for twelve years??? How come? Why? The questions come rolling out and I’m always on the friggin barricades by myself, with the becauses, the few phrases that I know by heart and I repeat, it’s ethical, I sleep better because of it (it’s a lie, I don’t), trying to keep at least a little calm and a little metta in a corner of my mind because at the end of the day they all leave and I’m the one left with the racing breath, the shaking hands and the anger, the internal heart-eating, cancer-cell-feeding anger.

Scenario number 2: Someone invites me over. 2a) It’s a crowded party. I drink red wine, eat chips, drink more wine, my boyfriend asks me if I ate anything, oh poor you, you have nothing to eat, don’t worry honey, I’ll eat at home, I’m not hungry. We go home after midnight. I eat carrots and cucumbers with hummus and whole wheat toast with coconut butter and salt. Plus ice cream. I can’t sleep until 4. 2b) It’s a dinner party. I eat some appetizers, then the dinner is brought and the discussion starts. See scenario no. 1.

I smile, laugh and I don’t know if or how this all affects me. In fact, if all the discussions stopped today, I would probably miss them. Why is nobody asking me why I eat what I eat? Why is nobody saying that I’m a plant murderer (ha. ha.)? Life would seem dull and I would find other reasons to get angry. Above all, what I would like the most is to be able to say the things that come to my mind. I’m vegetarian because I’m fucking sensitive. I was born that way. I can’t disassociate the living animal from the dish on the table. Maybe you can, good for you. Yes, I do judge you for what you eat, the same way you judge me. You think I’m inappropriate, well, I think you’re not thinking very much. But don’t worry, we can still be friends, I can turn off my opinion about what you eat and still appreciate and love you. When I was a teenager I had a friend, an actress, she was very wise and she used to say: “All the dirt is up here (pointing to her head), but my heart is always clean and pure”. Alina Mangra, I miss you, girl! So let’s have some dessert. Or even better, raw avocado & wild garlic pie.

This tart didn’t come together easily. The wild garlic I used to make it came all the way from Ottawa and I almost spoiled it because I couldn’t decide fast enough what to do with it.

I saw alpine wild garlic for the first time last weekend, on a stand in Ottawa. It was love at first sight!

I picked up a bunch from the very good looking French vendor and brought it back with me to Toronto. Then I waited for a few days, took some pictures of it and a few more days later (I could already notice some wilted leaves) I asked people on facebook if they have any ideas about cooking with wild garlic. A few friends gave me some ideas (thank you so much, ladies!) and then my brain started working until I came up with the above-mentioned raw pie. I’m quite proud of it not only because my boyfriend and I enjoyed it but because Sina, my boyfriend’s 17 years old little cousin tasted it and exclaimed: “Delicious! I’m actually gonna be your fan!” Maybe he was being polite but he’s still a teenager and if a 17 y.o. is a fan of mine because he liked my weird raw avocado & garlic pie….then I win. But only for about 5 minutes because I still don’t like Lady Gaga and…whatever teenagers these days listen to…

Wild garlic has a really nice taste, something between spring garlic and chives. I’ve read on a few websites that the Romans were very fond of it but this information is not yet confirmed (I haven’t found it mentioned by any ancient source yet).

Aside from the fact that I’m very much fond of raw foods and of the philosophy behind eating raw, I kept everything in this tart raw because I wanted the taste of the ingredients (especially the wild garlic) to stand out. It’s not like I have wild garlic every day so when I get my hands on it, I want to enjoy it fully.

The taste is amazing – fresh and savoury – and in case you didn’t notice in the recipe, the tart doesn’t contain any salt. Does it need any? Nope. The lemon adds that extra kick to the dish so salt is not at all needed.

I think this is officially my favourite recipe for Spring 2012. Enjoy!

PS: This little guy says: “Happy Spring”