A Penchant for Blueberries and a Tart Recipe

You might say I have a weakness for blueberries.  Actually, that’s probably a bit of an understatement.  Its been my favorite fruit since I was a kid, anyone who is truly close to me knows this.

When I was about 12 years old or so, my friend came over and assisted me in devouring a generous three-quarters of a juicy, flaky, sugar-crusted blueberry pie that my mom had baked that very morning.  In truth, we could’ve eaten the whole thing. I recall us debating the matter with blue-tinted tongues while staring at the remaining pie quarter.  It just sat there in its glass dish, so tempting, surrounded by buttery crumbs and shiny pools of sweet, purple liquid. Alas, a sense of conscience nagged, and mournfully, we decided it was only fair to leave some pie for the remaining three members of my household. Oh, the self-sacrificing “courtesy” of a pair of gluttonous 12-year-olds…

I can’t think of a single dish where I haven’t enjoyed these berries, whether it be foie gras with a blueberry sauce or just a simple muffin.  I would even claim that I suffer from some sort of Bluebericus Neurosis:  if I order something with blueberries in it, it better have blueberries galore. Nothing irks me more than a Lack of Blueberries in a blueberry dish.  And I’m not kidding:  Whenever I order blueberry pancakes in a restaurant, I will lift each pancake in the stack with my fork to observe the volume and distribution of fruit.  If I buy a blueberry muffin, I will split the thing in half to see how many berries there are.  If there are a scant few, I will only eat the blue bits, and discard the rest of the muffin.  (I realize I’m being a bit extreme, but I can’t see the point in having only five measly berries in a seven-inch pancake let alone three in a full-size muffin.  To me, its the sign of a lazy cook or a very cheap chef.  Guess what:  I don’t care how busy service is, make it good and make it happen.)

Anyways, one of my favorite desserts will always be a blueberry tart.  I used to make one quite frequently years ago.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact recipe or even where I got it from.  All I remember is that it had a lemony crust with a cooked filling and fresh blueberries layered on top. What I loved most about it was the combination of cooked and fresh fruit.

Fortunately, I was able to come up with a new recipe.  I adapted the crust from a recent issue of Bon Appétit magazine, with a few adjustments.*  I was able to tweak the filling on my own, just from experience, memory and trial.  It is not overly-sweet which I prefer, and the crust is crumbly and light.  For garnish, I like to add some chantilly cream that has been made with either crème fraîche or mascarpone.

BLUEBERRY TART

MISE EN PLACE:
For the tart shell:
7 tbl butter
the zest of 1 lemon
1/3 C sugar
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 C plus 1 tbl of all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt

->  Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Combine the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Combine the zest and butter in a small pot.  Melt the butter over medium heat, stirring.  Remove from heat, add sugar and lemon juice to pot.  Stir and add to flour mixture.  Stir the dough mixture until incorporated.

In a 9-inch tart mold, press the dough down and flatten with the palm of your hand.  Using your fingertips, work the dough up the sides of the mold as evenly as possible.  With a fork, “dock” the dough, meaning, gently poke a bunch of holes into the bottom part of the shell.  Place in the middle rack of the oven, and bake until golden, about 18 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For the filling:
3 pints of blueberries
2 tbl cornstarch
1/2 C sugar
2 tbl lemon juice
the zest of 1 lemon

->  Set aside 1 pint of blueberries.

Combine remaining 2 pints with other ingredients in a medium-sized pot.  Over medium heat, cook the berries, stirring, until the juices start to come out and the mixture thickens, about 6 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool down.

ASSEMBLY:
Put cooked blueberry filling into the shell evenly (this can be done while the filling is still warm).  With the remaining pint of fresh berries, arrange them in a single layer on top of the tart.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

______________________________________________________

CHANTILLY CREAM WITH CRÈME FRAÎCHE

MISE EN PLACE:
1 C cream
1/2 C crème fraîche (or mascarpone)
the scraped out seeds of 1/3 of a vanilla bean
1 tbl sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.  With an electric hand mixer, whip on medium high until soft peaks form, about 6 minutes.

NOTE:  the accompanying cream is very mildly sweet, extra sugar can be added if desired.

* The crust is adapted from Bon Appétit’s Brown Butter Raspberry Tart recipe, (which, by the way, is STELLAR.)

“Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!”
-Robert Frost, from “Blueberries”

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