Rustic Rhubarb and Strawberry Tart*

Rhubarb is one of my favourite (honorary) fruits.  (It’s a vegetable, yeah, but it’s so a fruit!)  I am absolutely in love with it.  I’m from Yorkshire so it’s one of the best bits of local produce I can get (honorable mentions to asparagus and Wendsleydale cheese also).  So I do a lot with it usually.  This year, however, I’ve been working on something special.  I had hoped to have a lot more rhubarb recipes going on here but I’ve ben channeling it all into this special project. 

Are you intrigued yet?  Well, I’ll cut to the chase.  I’m going to be a competitor on a TV food show!!!  I’ve had an audition and they liked me and my dish so I’m heading down to London later this month to film the first round of regional heats.  If I’ll be filming anything else remains to be be seen (although fingers crossed!!!) but I’m just so happy to have got this far, it was totally unexpected.  I won’t say more for now but suffice to say rhubarb plays a big part in my dish!

For now I shall give you this recipe. I actually used tinned rhubarb because I saw it in the supermarket and wanted to know what it was like… not great I have to say.  I certainly wouldn’t serve it where it was visible or identifiable on its own.  But for this purpose it worked well.  I would recommend using fresh rhubarb if you have it though. 

The pastry for this tart was a total invention.  I just sort of threw stuff in a mixer.  It produced a lovely pastry though, almost shortcake like.  I usually feel that pastry should be a tool for keeping ingredients in one place and not a huge deal in its own right but this biscuity, crumbly, delicious pastry actually steps up and does a lot more than keeping the fruit together.  All in all an excellent experiment!

Serves 6

200g plain flour
50g golden caster sugar
100g butter
1 egg yolk
1 – 2 tbsp cold water
1 tin rhubarb, drained/a few stalks rhubarb, chopped**
~ 12 strawberries, quartered**
~6 tbsp golden caster sugar

– In a food processor mix together the flour and sugar with a short pulse or two. 
– Add the butter, cut into chunks, and whizz it until it forms breadcrumbs. 
– Add the egg yolk and 1 tbsp of water and blend some more. 
– If necessary add more water until it comes together as a dough. 
– Shape the dough into a flat disc.
– Place the dough on a square of baking paper or reusable silicon lining. 
– Roll out the disc into a rough circle. 
– Transfer the paper, with the pastry on it, onto a large baking tray. 
– Place the fruit in the centre of the pastry and sprinkle with the sugar. 
– Fold up the edges of the pastry over the fruit.  Pinch together any over laps and patch any splits. 
– Gently press around the edges to seal any cracks around the base. 
– Brush the pastry with a little milk or beaten egg. 
– Heat the oven to gas mark 6. 
– Bake for 30 minutes. 
– Leave to cool on the tray for a little while.  In all probability you will have ‘jam’ escaping from the tart. 
– Carefully slide the tart off the lining and onto a serving plate. 
– Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream. 

*I honestly don’t know what the in thing to call this is.  I’ve seen them called gallettes, crostata, freeform tarts, etc.  It’s rustic though and it looks rustic so that’s what I’ve gone for. 

** Use any fruit you like actually.  Almost anything would work well here but it can’t be too wet.

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