Rustic Rhubarb Tart
Recipe by Nicole Thom-Arens
Serves 8
When Tim and I were first married, I always made an apple wrapper pie from my Betty Crocker cookbook at Thanksgiving. In those early years of marriage, I always used store-bought pastry. As I continued to develop my own pastry skills, the concept of a wrapper pie or a French galette, became a friendly way to test the quality of the pastry. Fillings for rustic tarts like this can vary, but in early summer, nothing beats tart rhubarb in my opinion.
Ingredients:
Crust:3/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 cup whole wheat flour1 teaspoon kosher salt (Reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if not using Diamond.)1 tablespoon granulated sugar1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold1/4 cup refined coconut oil4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
Filling:4 cups rhubarb cut into 1 1/2- inch pieces2/3 cup granulated sugarZest and juice of 1 small lemon1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Topping:1 large egg1 tablespoon water1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions:
1. To make the crust, add the flours, sugar, and salt to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir to combine. 2. Cut the butter into small cubes. Add the cold butter and coconut oil to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter and oil into the flour mixture until it is well combined and all the flour is coated in fat. The crumb texture should be sand like with some chunky bits slightly smaller than peas. 3. Add 4 tablespoons of ice water to the flour and butter mixture. Stir to combine. If the mixture looks too dry, add an additional tablespoon of ice water. 4. Stir the mixture until it resembles a loose dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean worksurface. Knead until a smooth dough forms, which only requires three to five passes of kneading. 5. Pat the dough into a disc. Flatten to about a half inch. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.6. After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 7. Prepare the filling by washing the rhubarb and discarding any wilted or brown parts of the stalks. Cut the rhubarb into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Add the rhubarb to a medium-sized mixing bowl. 8. Zest the lemon into the rhubarb. Add the juice from the zested lemon. Add the sugar, flour, and vanilla. Stir until well combined and the sugar begins to melt into the mixture. Set aside.9. Remove the pastry dough from the fridge. Allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, generously dust a clean worksurface with all-purpose flour. Place the unwrapped dough onto the floured worksurface. Dust the top of the dough with additional flour. Roll to 1/4-inch thickness, rotating the dough a quarter of a turn between each roll.10. Once rolled out, carefully transfer the dough to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper by gently rolling the pastry onto the rolling pin and lifting it up on the baking sheet. Adjust as needed so the center of the dough is in the center of the pan. 11. Add the rhubarb to the center of the dough and spread it evenly leaving 2 to 2 1/2 inches of crust around the edges. Fold the border of the dough up around the filling. 12. To make the topping, whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush top of the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the 1/2 tablespoon of granulated sugar. 13. Bake the tart at 425 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
14. Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before slicing so that the filling can thicken.