A brand new plant-based restaurant in Knightsbridge, Holy Carrot focuses on using ethically sourced seasonal produce, prepared in a mindful manner. Located in wellness and beauty destination Urban Retreat, the goal at Holy Carrot is to offer Londoners a new way of experiencing and enjoying vegan food, with dishes on the menu free from preservatives, refined sugar, and additives. Highlights include the likes of raw red pepper burrito; tofu with aubergine, red pepper and peanut sauce; Holy Carrot cake; and a vegan lemon tart. A wide selection of fresh juices, smoothies, and cocktails are also served.
On the recent launch of Holy Carrot, founder Irina Linovich said: “When we came up with the idea to launch a vegan restaurant in Knightsbridge, we wanted to make sure that we brought an element of fun to eating vegan food. ‘Carrot’ symbolises the fun and intriguing element of the brand, and ‘Holy’ represents the healthy nature of our dishes. The menu is very much led by the very best seasonal organic British produce and we take great care to ensure that the produce is ethically sourced and sustainable.”
Made with a pastry base containing gluten-free flour, vegan butter, coconut sugar, and apple sauce, Holy Carrot’s vegan lemon tart recipe is relatively simple to follow at home, with a fair amount of inactive time used for chilling the pastry and the baked tart.
Servings: 8
28cm tart dish
Food processor
Heavy-based saucepan
For the pastry
- 190 g gluten-free flour
- 95 g vegan butter
- 75 g coconut sugar
- 25 g ground almonds
- Pinch salt
- Pinch xanthan gum
- 25 g apple sauce
For the lemon curd
- 400 g coconut cream tinned is fine
- 5½ oranges (juice only) approx 400ml
- 4½ large lemons (juice only) approx 250ml
- 285 ml agave
- 2½ tsp vanilla extract
- 80 g cornflour
To serve
- 1 tbsp sugar alternative such as Zusto, as recommended by the restaurant
To make the pastry, mix all the ingredients in a food processor until a soft dough forms. Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick and then gently lay in a 28cm tart dish, lined with baking paper and buttered. Ensure the edges rise up to at least 3cm and pop into the freezer for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C (fan)/gas mark 3.
Put all the filling ingredients into a heavy-based saucepan on a medium heat and whisk until the mixture thickens like a custard, but don’t allow it to boil. Remove from the heat and pour into the frozen pastry case and cut the pastry at the edge of the cream before baking it for 25 minutes. Let it cool down completely and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
To serve, sprinkle with a little sugar alternative (such as Zusto) and either use a blow torch or pop under the grill for a minute to caramelise before serving.
