Diced Watermelon.
Crumbled Feta Cheese.
Mint Chiffonade.
That's all. It's the simplest, most delicious, most refreshing salad in the whole world. Mine almost didn't make it to the table because I kept snitching. Using a serving spoon.
Mom, I thought of you tonight when I made this, and I smiled thinking about your mint patch.
30 May 2012
28 May 2012
Peach Rhubarb Tart
So many good things:
Cornmeal.
Rhubarb.
Sweet Summer Peaches.
Vanilla. (You may pronounce it "Wahnilla" if you'd like. I do.)
I've never, ever cooked with rhubarb before, but I will again. I love the sweet, tangy, hint of sour taste that feels like that strange place between spring and summer. It's perfect. This recipe, in its original form, is for several single-serving free form tarts, but I had a hankering to use my rectangular tart pan to make one full size one, so I did. I'm daring like that.
Peach Rhubarb Tart
adapted from Good to the Grain
For the filling:
1 pound peaches (about 4 medium)
8-12 oz. fresh rhubarb
1 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 egg yolks
Skin, pit, and chop the peaches. Slice the rhubarb stalks lengthwise, then chop into 1/2" chunks. Combine peaches, rhubarb, brown sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds, if using, in a medium pot with a lid. Cook over medium low to medium heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook until the fruit has broken down and mixture resembles jam. [I didn't do this because I forgot. It did not ruin it, it just took longer to firm up in the oven.] Remove from heat. If you're using vanilla extract, stir it in now.
In a food processor, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Add cold butter, all at once, and pulse until the mixture resembles chunky, coarse cornmeal. Add egg yolks and cream, and pulse until combined. It stays looking quite crumbly, so you'll have to turn it out and knead it together to make it look like dough, and even then it's a stretch to call it dough. Butter a large tart pan and press crust along the bottom and up the sides. [I had more dough than I needed, so I have some waiting in the refrigerator for a little treat sometime later this week.]
Fill tart shell with filling and toss the whole thing in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375˚F and cook the tart on the center rack for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browning at the edges. Cool to room temperature and serve with something creamy. Vanilla frozen yogurt had a nice tang to complement the fruit flavours.
What did I change from the original? Well, I made a big tart instead of small ones. I used one grind of corn instead of separating into corn flour and corn meal. Yes, the original recipe makes the distinction. I didn't mind the grainy bite from the cornmeal. I also altered the fruit mixture by adding peaches and allowing the vanilla to shine rather than adding hibiscus. Maybe I'll try the hibiscus filling some time, but not today. I really like the combination of sweet peaches and tart rhubarb. I probably could have decreased the sugar because of the change, but I didn't, and you don't have to, either.
Cornmeal.
Rhubarb.
Sweet Summer Peaches.
Vanilla. (You may pronounce it "Wahnilla" if you'd like. I do.)
I've never, ever cooked with rhubarb before, but I will again. I love the sweet, tangy, hint of sour taste that feels like that strange place between spring and summer. It's perfect. This recipe, in its original form, is for several single-serving free form tarts, but I had a hankering to use my rectangular tart pan to make one full size one, so I did. I'm daring like that.
Peach Rhubarb Tart
adapted from Good to the Grain
For the filling:
1 pound peaches (about 4 medium)
8-12 oz. fresh rhubarb
1 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups finely ground corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 egg yolks
Skin, pit, and chop the peaches. Slice the rhubarb stalks lengthwise, then chop into 1/2" chunks. Combine peaches, rhubarb, brown sugar, and vanilla bean and seeds, if using, in a medium pot with a lid. Cook over medium low to medium heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook until the fruit has broken down and mixture resembles jam. [I didn't do this because I forgot. It did not ruin it, it just took longer to firm up in the oven.] Remove from heat. If you're using vanilla extract, stir it in now.
In a food processor, combine corn meal, flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine. Add cold butter, all at once, and pulse until the mixture resembles chunky, coarse cornmeal. Add egg yolks and cream, and pulse until combined. It stays looking quite crumbly, so you'll have to turn it out and knead it together to make it look like dough, and even then it's a stretch to call it dough. Butter a large tart pan and press crust along the bottom and up the sides. [I had more dough than I needed, so I have some waiting in the refrigerator for a little treat sometime later this week.]
Fill tart shell with filling and toss the whole thing in the freezer for an hour. Preheat the oven to 375˚F and cook the tart on the center rack for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browning at the edges. Cool to room temperature and serve with something creamy. Vanilla frozen yogurt had a nice tang to complement the fruit flavours.
What did I change from the original? Well, I made a big tart instead of small ones. I used one grind of corn instead of separating into corn flour and corn meal. Yes, the original recipe makes the distinction. I didn't mind the grainy bite from the cornmeal. I also altered the fruit mixture by adding peaches and allowing the vanilla to shine rather than adding hibiscus. Maybe I'll try the hibiscus filling some time, but not today. I really like the combination of sweet peaches and tart rhubarb. I probably could have decreased the sugar because of the change, but I didn't, and you don't have to, either.
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