Blackberries are such a nutritious food. This recipe is a delicious way to incorporate them into a healthy dessert, so you can have them often. The natural sweetness of this unusual crust allows you to enjoy a tasty dessert without added sugar.

Prep and Cook Time: around 30 minutes; chilling time: 3 hours Ingredients: Crust 2-1/2 cups walnuts 1-1/2 cups dates Filling 5 cups fresh or frozen blackberries 3 TBS honey 1-1/2 TBS arrowroot 2 TBS water, or juice from frozen berries

Directions:

1. Combine walnuts and pitted dates in a food processor. Process until well mixed and ground, but not smooth (about 40 seconds). It should have a coarse texture when done. Press into a 9-inch tart pan. Set in refrigerator while making the filling.
2. If you are using frozen blackberries make sure they are completely thawed. If not, they will dilute the filling as they thaw and make it runny.
3. Place 2 cups of the berries along with the arrowroot in a blender. Add water or blackberry juice. Blend into a puree.
4. Place puree in a small saucepan along with honey and cook over medium heat stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes. It should lose its cloudiness and thicken. When it thickens and the cloudiness is gone remove it from heat. Mix with rest of the blackberries and fill tart shell. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Make sure it is covered so it doesn't pick up moisture from the refrigerator.

Serves 8

This crust is fantastic if done right. First of all, it is important to choose dates that are firm and not too gooey. Zahidi dates are usually good for this. When processing your crust you may have to do it in two batches. Combine half the dates and half the walnuts in each batch. Process well, but not too smooth. You should not process more than 40 seconds for each batch. You want to have a coarse texture that is still ground enough to hold together when pressed. Take a pinch of crust between your fingers and press it together. If it is over processed the crust will end up pasty and will not be good. If it is not quite ground enough it won't hold together. You can get a good idea of the consistency by looking at our photo.

Nutritional Profile

Introduction to Recipe Rating System Chart

In order to better help you identify recipes that feature a high concentration of nutrients for the calories they contain, we created a Recipe Rating System. This system allows us to highlight the recipes that are especially rich in particular nutrients. The following chart shows the nutrients for which Blackberry Tart is either an excellent, very good, or good source (below the chart you will find a table that explains these qualifications). If a nutrient is not listed in the chart, it does not necessarily mean that the recipe doesn't contain it. It simply means that the nutrient is not provided in a sufficient amount or concentration to meet our rating criteria. (To view this recipe's in-depth nutritional profile that includes values for dozens of nutrients - not just the ones rated as excellent, very good, or good - please use the link below the chart.) To read this chart accurately, you'll need to glance back up to see the ingredients used in the recipe and the number of serving sizes provided by the recipe. Our nutrient ratings are based on a single serving. For example, if a recipe makes 4 servings, you would be receiving the nutrient amounts listed in the chart by eating 1/4th of the combined ingredients found in the recipe. Now, returning to the chart itself, you can look next to the nutrient name in order to find the nutrient amount it offers, the percent Daily Value (DV%) that this amount represents, the nutrient density that we calculated for this recipe and nutrient, and the rating we established in our rating system. For most of our nutrient ratings, we adopted the government standards for food labeling that are found in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling." Read more background information and details of our rating system.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Blackberry Tart