Ingredients

• 1 cup Hijiki
• 1 tablespoon light sesame oil
• 1 small onion
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 ear corn
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger juice
• 2 green onions
• 2 carrots, diced
• 8 ounces tofu
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 teaspoon umeboshi plum vinegar
• 1 whole wheat pie crust

Directions

1. Rinse Hijiki thoroughly and soak in spring or filtered water for about 20 minutes
2. Heat sesame oil in a pan and sauté onions for 1 minute, adding a pinch of sea salt
3. Add carrot and corn kernels and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes
4. Drain Hijiki and chop it into small pieces
5. Add Hijiki to pan along with half a cup of its soaking liquid and half a cup of apple juice
6. Bring to a boil, cover pan and allow to simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes
7. If not all liquid has been absorbed, remove lid from pan, turn up the heat and boil it off
8. Add tamari, ginger and green onions and mix well
9. For topping, steam carrot until soft and puree in a blender or food processor, drizzling a little water in gradually to get a thick, creamy consistency
10. Taste test and add a little more miso or plum vinegar if you require a stronger taste
11. Divide piecrust into (6 or 8) pieces
12. Roll each piece into a circle about 1/8
13. Option one: For this you need two mini tart trays - each tray will probably have four pie compartments. Line the bases of the tart trays with rolled out pastry and trim and crimp the edges. Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the veggie mixture into the pie base and spread some of the tofu mixture on top. For a prettier look, you can use a piping bag and pipe mixture decoratively on top. drizzle a little olive oil on top of each pie and bake for about 25 minutes.
14. Option two: Put about 2 Tbsp of the veggie mixture onto the center of the rolled out pastry. Dampen the edges of the pastry and fold over to form a half moon. Trim and crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes. Can be served hot or cold with a dollop of the tofu cream. If serving hot, you can warm the cream. If you prefer, you can add more water to thin it out a bit so you can pour it as a sauce over the pie.