French Cuisine: Tarte à La Rhubarbe

The month of May sees the re-introduction of rhubarb into the markets and supermarkets of France. Rhubarb is a great root vegetable that is truly delicious. Despite being traditionally served as a sweet dish, making one think it part of the fruit family, rhubarb is in fact a vegetable with a similar texture and look to celery. When cooked with the right sweet ingredients this makes for a superb Spring pudding.

Here is our quick and easy recipe for Tarte à la rhubarbe, or Rhubarb Tart in English.  This recipe takes only 35 minutes to cook and 15 minutes to prepare. It is therefore perfect to whip up in a hurry and you can guarantee that it will still deliver in flavour.  This dish is traditionally served in France in the month of May as it acts to celebrate rhubarb in all of its glory. Why not try and make this delicious Spring tart that will no doubt impress both you and your guests, should you want to share it with them!

Ingredients 

Makes for six people

For the pastry:
200 g flour
100 g butter
1 egg yolk
5 centre litres of water
A pinch of salt

For the filling:
800 g of rhubarb
150 g white sugar (sucre en poudre)
2 eggs
125 g crème fraîche

Method

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

  • Peel the rhubarb and cut into 2 centimetre chunks, put them into a bowl with 50 grams of sugar.
  • Let the rhubarb and sugar rest for an hour. Wash and drain the rhubarb in a sieve.
  • Butter a baking dish then spread the pastry into a baking dish.
  • Add the rhubarb filling into the pastry case and cook in a hot oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.
  • Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl, add the crème fraîche and pour the mixture over the rhubarb.
  • Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

 

Enjoy!