Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Rhubarb has finally arrived on the scene and just in time for the strawberries, which will be trickling in as this warm weather plumpens those beautiful berries! Rhubarb is actually a vegetable. It does have a rather celery like stalk - in look and texture - but because we Americans prefer to cook it with sugar and use it in desserts, it’s often thought of as a fruit. Rhubarb came to America from China by way of Europe. There, rhubarb roots were used as medicine. The sour and tart stalks are used in savory dishes.
One of my absolute favorite Spring treats is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I love eating it warm from the oven with a heft dollop of cold whipped cream. I generally don’t like cooked strawberries, but for this pie I make an exception. I also created another “pie” option to keep some of the strawberries raw so I can swoon over that fresh strawberry flavor. My Strawberry Rhubarb Tart recipe cooks half of the strawberries with the rhubarb, making a coulis, and keeps the other half whole and raw. In this recipe I’ve used Biscoff cookies as the base but, if you have a tart dough recipe you like, feel free to substitute with that, or even another cookie! You can also make this recipe as a crostata - a free form pie. If you are going to do that, add the cooked fruit to a raw 9” pie dough laid out on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place the cooked fruit in the center of the raw circle of dough, leaving a 2” border all around. Fold up the edges onto the cooked fruit, pleating as you go. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the pie crust is browned. Once the pie is cooled, proceed with placing the raw strawberries on top and brushing with the apricot jam glaze.
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
by Chef Kelly Unger
Makes one 9” tart
2 pints strawberries, half the amount quartered, half the amount left whole with the tops removed leaving a flat surface
3 thin or 1 thick stalk rhubarb, diced
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water, more if necessary
1 cup apricot jam, divided in half
1 1/2 cups Biscoff cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons melted salted butter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a 9” fluted tart pan with removable bottom on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and cookie crumbs. Stir with a fork to combine well and press into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan evenly. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until set and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
In a large saucepan or medium pot, add the sugar, water, rhubarb, quartered strawberries and ½ cup apricot jam and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium low heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes, until the strawberries and rhubarb disintegrate into a saucy texture, careful not to burn. Remove from the heat. Using a fork, mash any remaining larger pieces of strawberry. You want a relatively smooth mixture. Allow to cool.
Once the crust has cooled, heat the remaining ½ cup of apricot jam over low heat in a small saucepan just until it is melted . Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of jam over the crust. Allow to cool. Set remaining melted jam aside to use as a glaze.
Once the crust and rhubarb mixture have cooled, add the rhubarb mixture to the pie crust and spread across the bottom of the crust in an even layer. Place the whole, raw strawberries, flat (top) side down on top of the rhubarb mixture. You can start in the center with one strawberry and fill in the rest of the tart working in circles or form a line down the middle of the tart and cover the rest of the tart in straight lines.
Use the remaining warm apricot jam to brush a glaze over the whole strawberries. Serve within a few hours or refrigerate, careful to protect the glaze.
Post a picture on social media and tag me when you make it!! I'd love to see your photos!!! Enjoy!
