Making pastry is a little bit of an art, but don't let that stop you! There's nothing wrong with a good store bought crust. But the blend of strawberries, rhubarb, and peppercorns in this subtly sweet tart will make you rethink desserts forever!
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
- 1/3 cup almond meal
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 stick very cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-3 tbsp ice water
- 3-4 stalks rhubarb, cubed
- 1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp pink peppercorns
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch or corn starch
- 3/4 tsp salt
- non-stick spray
For the crust: Add almond meal, flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the cubed butter over the top and pulse just until butter is about the size of small peas and the flour sticks to itself when you pinch it.
Add the egg yolk and one tbsp of water and pulse to combine. Add another tbsp of water if needed. It took me 3 tbsps to get the dough to really come together, but your experience may vary.
Press the dough into a disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
For the filling: Preheat oven to 375. Place rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
Put pink peppercorns in a zip-top bag. Using a rolling pin or flat side of a large knife, bash the peppercorns until they are coarsely crushed. Add to rhubarb and strawberry mixture, then stir in lemon, tapioca starch and salt. Sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. The longer it sits, the more mellow the rhubarb flavor and the more pronounced the peppercorn, so keep that in mind as you time your baking.
Remove crust from the refrigerator and pull off about half of the crust. Lightly flour a clean work surface and press your dough into a flat circle. Roll out until less than 1/4 inch thick, then cut three circles about 3 inches wider than your tart pans.
Thoroughly spray your tart pans and then gently place the crust into them, making sure to press the crust into the edges. Line with aluminum foil and weight down with beans or pie weights, then put on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
Remove tart crusts from the oven and pull out the foil and weights. Fill with the rhubarb mixture, making sure to get some of the juice in the crust. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is set. Cool thoroughly and then serve!
