Red Rhubarb & Wild Strawberry Tart l Rote Rhabarbertarte mit Walderdbeeren

This tart is meant to celebrate the humble rhubarb and the delectable wild strawberry (aka the wood strawberry) that happily grows in our garden. The tart has a buttery crust and a custardy filling with plenty of summery flavors.

Serve it for tea or, as I often do, for breakfast, rhubarb is a vegetable, after all. The rhubarb stalks can be used raw, when they have a crisp texture - one of my fondest childhood food memories involves eating a stalk of fresh rhubarb that we picked in my grandmother's garden and dipped in white sugar - but stalks of rhubarb are most commonly cooked with sugar and used in pies, crumbles and other desserts. Or, if you prefer your food to be on the savory side, use rhubarb to make a chutney, or a BBQ sauce, salad dressing or ketchup. Cooked or raw, rhubarb stalks have a strong, tart taste. But if you can, choose the brightest red stalks that you can find over the green ones, as the red ones tend to be a bit sweeter and have a more complex flavor - some people around here call the red stalks 'strawberry rhubarb' (Erdbeer-Rhabarber) because of the vivid color and relative sweet taste.

When I make this tart, I always add a few tiny yet amazingly flavorful wild strawberries but if they are not in season while the rhubarb already is, I go with all rhubarb. Not so much that the strawberries are a dominant flavor, but they add a little extra something to this tart. Plus they are very pretty in a cake.

Around here, the growing season for rhubarb officially ends next week, on June 24th to be exact, so it is high time to be baking this tart. Before that date, the plant has lower levels of oxalic acid and less sourness and the stalks tend to be less coarse.

Remember to wash and trim the rhubarb stems before you intend to use them and make sure to discard the leaves as they are poisonous. If you cook with outdoor-grown rhubarb, remove any stringy outer layers. And, as a general rule, you should cut it into equal-sized pieces to ensure even cooking.

This is also a great tart to make ahead of time, it tastes just as good the day after making. If you wanted to serve it with whipped cream or a good vanilla ice cream, by all means do so, but I think it is fine as is, maybe with just a slight dusting of powdered sugar.

Whether you take the time to make a geometric pattern or simply scatter your stalks, it’s your choice, any way you bake it, this tart is easy and utterly delicious.

Rhubarb and Wild Strawberry Tart

Ingredients

For the Pastry

• 225g plain (AP) flour, plus extra for rolling
• 25g ground almonds (almond flour)
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 140g cold butter, unsalted, cubed
• 1 egg yolk (L), organic or free range
• 1 to 2 tbsps cold water

For the Filling

• 50g pistachios, unsalted, ground
• 500g red rhubarb, trimmed and peeled
• a small handful of wild strawberris (you can omit these and substitute with regular small strawberries or more rhubarb)
• 2 eggs (M), organic of free range
• 125ml milk (I like to use 3.5%)
• 125ml cooking cream (or use all milk, for a 250ml total)
• 2 tbsps superfine (caster) sugar
• 8g pure vanilla sugar (or use 1 tbsp vanilla extract)
• a pinch of fine sea salt

Preparation

1. To make the pastry, put the flour, almonds, icing sugar and butter in a food processor.
2. Blitz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add the egg yolk and dribble in 1 to 2 tbsp cold water.
3. Tip onto your lightly floured work surface and knead briefly to bring the mixture together to form a dough.
4. Wrap in kitchne wrap and chill for about 30 to 60 minutes.
5. Pre-heat your oven to 190°C.
6. Remove the pastry from the fridge. If it is a little hard, leave it at room temperature to soften for 10 mins or so.
7. Roll out to on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 23cm fluted tart pan. Cut a round of baking paper bigger than the pan and place in the pan with baking beans on top.
8. Bake blind for 15 to 20 mins, then remove the beans and bake for a further 5 to 10 mins until lightly golden.
9. Remove the tart from the oven and turn the oven down to 160°C.
10. While the tart is in the oven, prepare the filling. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla sugar and salt.
11. Sprinkle ground pistachios over the bottom of the case, arrange rhubarb pieces on top, scatter wild strawberrie in bewteen and pour the cream mixture over the fuit.
12. Place the tart on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until it is just set.
13. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before cutting into slices.

Rhabarber und Walderdbeertarte

Zutaten

Für den Teig

• 225g Weizenmehl, Type 405, plus etwas zum Ausrollen
• 25g gemahlene Mandeln (Mandelmehl)
• 2TL Puderzucker
• 140g kalte Butter, gewürfelt
• 1 Eigelb (L), Bio-oder Freilandhaltung
• 1 bis 2 EL kaltes Wasser

Für den Guss

• 50g gemahlene Pistazien (ungesalzen)
• 500g Rhabarber, rot, geputzt
• eine kleine Handvoll Walderbeeren (man kann auch kleine reguläre Erdbeeren nehmen oder mehr Rhababer
• 2 Eier (M), Bio- oder Freilandhaltung
• 125ml Milch (3.5%)
• 125ml Sahne (zum Kochen geeignet)
• 2 EL feinster Zucker
• 8g Bourbon Vanillezucker
• eine Prise Meersalz

Zubereitung

1. Alle Zutaten zu einem glatten Teig  verkneten, zur Kugel formen, in Klarsichtfolie wickeln und 30 bis 60 Minuten in den Kühlschrank legen. 
2. Den Backofen auf 190°C vorheizen. 
3. Den Teig aus dem Kühlschrank nehmen. Teig auf der bemehlten Arbeitsfläche ausrollen (23 cm Durchmesser). Falls der Teig sich noch nicht so gut ausrollen läßt, gute 10 Minuten bei Zimmertemperatur liegen lassen. Tarteform einfetten, mit Teig auslegen. Teig mehrmals mit der Gabel einstechen. Mit Backpapier auslegen und mit Backbohnen beschweren und für 15 bis 20 Minuten blind backen, dann das Backpapier entfernen und weitere 5 bis 10 Minuten backen.
4. Die Ofentemperatur auf 160° C herunterschalten.
5. Die gemahlenen Pistazien über dem Boden verteilen, dann die Rhababerstücke und die Walderdbeeren darauf verteilen.
6. Für den Guss die Eier, Milch, Sahne, Zucker, Vanillezucker und Salz verrühren. Eierguß auf den Rhabarber und die Walderdbeeren gießen.
7. Tarte auf der 1. Einschubleiste von unten 30 bis 35 Minuten zu Ende backen.
8. Nach dem Backen auf einem Kuchenrost auskühlen lassen.

For more rhubarb inspiration, take a look at some of my other recipes:

• Springtime Baking: Yogurt Rhubarb Bundt - Frühlingsgugelhupf mit Jogurt und Rhabarber (HERE)
• Old Viennese Topfen Cake & Oven-Baked Rhubarb - Altwiener Topfentorte & Ofen-Gebackener Rhabarber (HERE)
• Rhubarb Cordial and Rhubarb Almond Bundt - Rhabarber Sirup und Rhabarber-Mandel Kuchen (HERE)
• Spring Rhubarb Tart - Frühlings-Rhabarbertarte (HERE)
• Nigel Slater´s Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake (HERE)
• Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cakes (HERE)
• Hungarian Shortbread with Homemade Rhubarb Jam (HERE)