Rhubarb Tart

 

It seems that most recipes when using rhubarb shy away from using just rhubarb.  The tart flavor of the rhubarb is not to be feared, and in fact can be quit tasty.  I know rhubarb can be hard to come by so if you don't have any in your garden, or it happens to be winter just use frozen rhubarb.  I bought my puff pastry instead of making it from scratch.  This can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store.  Usually it comes with two sheets of puff pastry,  I like to get the pastry out of the package and let it warm up for about 20 minutes before starting.  This way, when you unfold the pastry it wont fall apart.  If you are using frozen rhubarb set that out for about 20 minutes as well before starting so it is slightly thawed and easier to deal with.

Rhubarb Tart

4 cups of chopped rhubarb (32 oz)

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp water

1/4 tsp cinnamon

For the crumble

1/2 cups flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

For a garnish

1 egg

Sugar in the raw

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Unfold the puff pastry, sprinkle a small amount of flour to prevent sticking and lightly roll over it with a rolling pin.  This is just to even out the pastry and get rid of the fold lines.  Don't fret over making it perfect and don't push down to hard.  If there are any cracks in your pastry drop a tiny bit of water on the pastry and gently push it together until the crack has fused back together.  Using a pizza cutter, or just a plain knife cut each sheet into four squares so you have a total of eight squares.  Place each square on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  I cooked four at a time on a normal sized cookie sheet.  set aside while you make the filling and crumble.

 To make the crumble, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or two knives.  mix until the crumble resembles a corn meal.

To make the filling, put the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a large sauce pan and mix.  Put all of your rhubarb in the saucepan and add the water.  Stir until the rhubarb is evenly coated and then cook on high.  Continue to stir while the mixture is cooking, you don't have to constantly stir just enough to prevent burning.  Cook until the mixture has thickened and is bubbling.  Remove from heat.

beat one egg and brush over all of the pastry squares.  In the center poke several holes with a fork.  If you don't do this the pastry will puff up where the filling is.

using a third cup scoop the rhubarb mixture, press it against the side of the pan to release any excess liquid and place it in the center of the pastry square.  Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top, you can use as little or as much as you like.

Fold the corners over and try to press them together with your fingers.  This one wouldn't hold together, but it's no big deal.  Brush the outside of the pastry with egg and sprinkle raw sugar over the top.

This is the sugar I use, I think it tastes so much better then regular sugar.  It is a lot more expensive so I only use it for garnishes or coffee.

Place your pastry in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Let the pastry cool for 5-10 minutes....my husband bit into one that was fresh out of the oven and just about burnt his mouth!  You can garnish this with  whipped cream or eat with vanilla ice cream.