Pie and Pastry Bible (73 page)

In a small saucepan or a microwave oven, heat the currant jelly until melted and bubbling. Strain it into a small cup. Allow it to cool until no longer hot.

In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or until the rhubarb exudes some juice.

Bring the mixture to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is tender and the liquid thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool without stirring.
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Pour the rhubarb into the pie shell. Arrange the strawberry slices on top in concentric circles, using the smaller slices for the center rings. Up to 1 hour before serving, brush with the reserved currant jelly to glaze the top of the berries. If necessary, warm the jelly to make it slightly fluid.

Unmold the tart (see page 251) and serve.

STORE

Room temperature, up to 6 hours; refrigerated, up to 2 days.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

The currant jelly glaze adds a lovely sweet/tart flavor to the berries, but it will start to liquefy when brushed on cut slices of berries if it is left to stand too long. If you need to glaze the berries several hours ahead of serving, the best glaze to use would be a cassava lemon glaze (page 612).

BLUEBERRY TART WITH LEMON CURD

I
n addition to being delicious, this tart also provides several textural contrasts: a flaky, crunchy crust; creamy lemon filling; and burst-in-the-mouth berry topping. It is also beautiful to behold because though the berries do not cook or begin to break down, they turn dark blue from contact with the hot glaze.

OVEN TEMPERATURE: 300°F. • BAKING TIME: 7 TO 10 MINUTES SERVES: 6
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
Basic Flaky Pie Crust for a 9½-inch tart (page 22), prebaked and still warm		12 ounces	340 grams
½ large egg white, lightly beaten	1 tablespoon	0.5 ounce	15 grams
1 recipe Classic Lemon Curd (page 568)	1 cup + 2½ tablespoons	11 ounces	312 grams
Blueberry Topping fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried	(3 cups) 3 cups	14 ounces	400 grams
arrowroot or cornstarch	1 tablespoon	0.33 ounce	9.5 grams
sugar	cup	2.3 ounces	66 grams
water	½ liquid cup	4 ounces	118 grams
freshly squeezed lemon juice	1½ teaspoons	•	8 grams

EQUIPMENT

A 9½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom

Make the dough (page 22). Roll, shape, and prebake it (see page 251). While the crust is still warm, brush it with the egg white (see page 56).

Preheat the oven to 300°F. at least 15 minutes before baking the tart. Set an oven rack in the middle of the oven before preheating.

Spread the lemon curd smoothly in the prebaked tart shell and bake for 7 to 10 minutes. The curd should not begin to color, but should barely jiggle when the pan is moved gently from side to side. Remove the tart to a rack and cool.

PREPARE THE BLUEBERRY TOPPING

Place the berries in a bowl.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the arrowroot or cornstarch and sugar. Stir in the water and lemon juice and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is clear and thickened. With arrowroot, this will happen before the boil; with cornstarch, the mixture must reach a full rolling boil and boil for 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and add the blueberries all at once, tossing until coated with glaze. The berries will turn a bright blue. Empty the berries into a colander or strainer suspended over a bowl, to drain away any excess glaze. (Save this glaze in case more is needed.)

Gently spoon the glazed berries evenly on top of the lemon curd. Cool completely. If there are any dry spots on the berries, touch them up with the reserved glaze.

Unmold the tart (see page 251) and serve.

STORE

Room temperature or refrigerated, up to 2 days.

NOTE

For a 9-inch pie, use the same amount of lemon curd but two thirds the recipe for the blueberry topping, as follows:

INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
Blueberry Topping fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried	2½ cups 2½ cups	• 10 ounces	• 284 grams
arrowroot or cornstarch	2 teaspoons	•	6 grams
sugar	¼cup	1.75 ounces	50 grams
water	liquid cup	2.75 ounces	79 grams
freshly squeezed lemon juice	1 teaspoon	•	5 grams

UNDERSTANDING

The tart is baked briefly to set the curd for ease in slicing. (The stirring process when cooking the curd separates the protein bonds in the yolk, and the undisturbed baking heat allows them to reconnect.) This additional heat does not change the silkiness of the texture.

VARIATION

Lemon Tartlets: use six 4-inch flan rings (cut the dough circles 5½ inches) and prebake. Make 1½times the lemon curd and omit the blueberry topping. Garnish with thin lemon slices that have been simmered, covered, for 20 minutes in
cup of sugar dissolved in
cup of water before baking 5 minutes until the curd barely jiggles. (For a 9¾-inch tart, triple the lemon curd.)

PEAR TART WITH ALMOND CREAM

I
n this luscious tart, juicy slices of poached pear, glistening with the reduced pear poaching syrup glaze, are nestled in baked almond cream and encased in flaky pastry. This tart is easy to make and heavenly to eat.

EQUIPMENT

A 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom

Make the dough (page 23). Roll, shape, and prebake it (see page 251). Let cool.

POACH THE PEARS

Peel, halve, and core the pears just before you poach them so that they do not darken.

In a nonreactive 10-inch skillet just large enough to hold the pears in a single layer, combine the water, lemon juice, eau-de-vie, sugar, and vanilla bean and stir to dissolve the sugar. Place the pears, hollow side down, in the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Place a round of parchment on top of the pears. Simmer over low heat, tightly covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the thickest part of a pear enters easily. The pears should still be slightly firm. Remove the pan from the heat and cool, covered only by the parchment. It will take about 1 hour to cool completely.