Tartelette test

On Monday American friends Ken and Walt plus their lovely dog Callie came for lunch. Both of them write a blog and you can find Ken's blog here. Walt's blog is called Another American in France. They are good cooks and interested in food so in a foolhardy fashion we decided use a recipe for rhubarb tart which we'd never tried before and serve it as their dessert. We found the recipe on a site called La Tartine Gourmande. It's run by a French woman, originally from northeastern France, but now living in Boston. She has a whole range of recipes including  gluten-free.

It was all as a result of our neighbour, Alexandra having come round a few days before  with a delicious home-made mirabelle and rubarb flan. The mirabelles had come from her orchard but we knew she didn't grow rhubarb as she doesn't have a potager.  She said that the LeClerc supermarket in Loches had it; so, as we both love rhubarb, we did our weekly shopping there hoping they would still have some. They did, and we came home with 1kg of lovley rhubarb.

tarte a la rhubarbe gingembrée et vanillée

We didn't follow the recipe exactly. It is actually for 4 tartelettes which are dainty. We made one large tart, which is more rustic. Also we didn't peel the stalks of rhubarb--they were tender enough, nor did we finish with a powdering confectioner's sugar. For the rest we pretty much followed the instructions and the baking time was spot on. We served the tart with very lightly sugared creme fraiche (30% fat).

The end result looked and tasted good. Well, Niall and I thought so, and Ken and Walt are alive to tell the tale :-).

Here's the recipe [on the website there's also a version in French which uses metric measurements]:

 Rhubarb Tartlets with Ginger and Vanilla

(For 4 tartlets rectangular 8 x 4″)

You need:

• 10.5 oz puff pastry
• 1 lb + 2 oz rhubarb
• 2 oz fine cane sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed
• 2 inch ginger root, peeled and grated extremely thinly
• 3/4 cup almond powder
• 3.5 Tbsp brown raw granulated sugar + 2 Tbsp to sprinkle over
• Confectioner’s sugar

Steps:

• Peel the rhubarb and cut it in 2.5 ” long sticks.
• Place them in a colander placed over a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 cup fine sugar. Let rest for 1 hour so that the rhubarb looses its water.
• In the meantime, roll your puff pastry thinly and divide in four 8 x 4″ rectangulars, and place them on a baking sheet.
• Preheat your oven at 420 F.
• Make small holes with a fork leaving a 1/2 inch border. Cover with a plastic film and place in the fridge.
• Mix together the almond powder with 4 Tbsp raw brown sugar, the vanilla seeds and the ginger. Crumble.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and top with the almond crumble, leaving the border intact.
• Arrange the rhubarb sticks on top and sprinkle with additional 1/2 Tbsp on each tartlet.
• Cook for about 20 min. Remove and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired.

We shall certainly be trying more recipes from La Tartine Gourmande! However, tomorrow the other half of the rhubarb is going into a rhubarb and ginger sour-dough cake.