Rustic Tart - At Last

Finally, at long last here is the Rustic Tart, as promised. It's a glorious dessert - really, just lots of fruit, and a little bit of pastry. If you have some pastry in the freezer all the better - it will take you even less time to put it together. I like to use a sweet shortcrust for this, but you could also (if you must) buy a good quality one like the Careme (available from good supermarkets and specialist food stores throughout Australia). I like to make it with spelt, and the results are no different than if I did it with wheat, it's just a little more digestible. I love cooking with spelt flour, it's gluten structure is far more easily tolerated than wheat, and it's more water soluble - also easier on the digestive system.
Now, making pastry. You can do this. It's not hard, you just need to know the rules for shortcrust world - namely keep everything cold. The entire aim is to not overwork the butter into the flour and the heat from your hands melt it. Don't play with it, don't keep mixing it - once you've added the water this will only help develop gluten, and make it tough. When rolling, make sure your pastry is cold - if it starts to soften, and the butter smears, don't just keep adding more flour - pop it on a tray lined with baking paper, back into the fridge so it chills a little (just a couple of minutes or so) then take it out and go again. Remember, cold pastry into a very hot oven. As it cooks, butter should sizzle around the base of the tart. In the one here, I've used juicing apples (cheap), a handful of strawberries (expensive, but delicious) and a handful of mulberries picked by a student for class. Very soon though it will time for apricots!!!!! My daughter Nessie made a mulberry ice-cream (yes, it's mulberry season) and it was glorious with the tart. 

Make sure it's well chilled before going into the oven, and don't be afraid to pile it up with fruit, it will cook down.

Leftovers make a nourishing (for the soul) and delicious breakfast the next morning.

The Pastry:

2 cups unbleached plain flour - wheat or spelt

1 1/2 tablespoon raw or golden castor sugar added.

180 gm unsalted butter

6 - 11 tablespoons ice cold water 

The Filling:

740 gm apples, peeled, cored, cut into quarters and thinly sliced

300 gm blackberries

1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons raw sugar or maple syrup (taste your fruit first and see how

sweet it is, remember there is sugar in the pastry.

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour

Preheat your oven to 200c or 190 c if fan forced

Make the pastry:

Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until it is incorporated into the flour, but still quite chunky. The chunks do need to be small, but it is quite okay if some of them are a little smaller than a kidney bean. If using a food processor, pulse one or two times, or until ready and turn out into a bowl. Don’t be tempted to add the water to the food processor, it is too easy to overwork the pastry.

Using a bread and butter knife, begin to mix the cold water into the flour and butter. This is the step most people need to keep practicing - you will never use the same amount of water twice - it depends on the freshness of the flour, the humidity, the temperature and if any of your butter has melted. Also, the higher the percentage of wholemeal flour, the more water needed. The idea is to add a small amount of water, begin to cut and mix it in with the knife. As you continue to add the water, little bit by little bit, you are cutting the wet bits into the dry bits, cutting, mixing and stirring. You use only as much water as you need. By cutting the wet dough into the dry bits, you avoid using too much water (another reason for tough pastry). Once all the mix looks moist, bring it together into a ball, DO NOT KNEAD OR PLAY WITH IT. Flatten the ball, wrap and chill long enough to take the softness of the butter - approx 20 mins.

Roll out pastry in between baking paper to approx 30 - 35cm diameter circle. After each 2­ - 3 rolls, remove the top piece of paper, then replace it (this detaches the pastry from the paper and allows it to move over the paper as you roll), gently turn over and then repeat with the paper underneath, adding  another sheet of baking paper if the pastry becomes too large.

Between rolling, sprinkle the pastry and paper with a little flour - this will enable you to easily fold the edges, later on. If the weather is warm, pop the pastry on a tray (still in between the baking paper) and into the fridge to chill slightly, while you prepare the filling. Depending on the size of the tray, it may overhang the sides a little.

Making the Tart:

Add the apples to a bowl, together with the sugar or maple syrup and cornstarch and toss through gently. Add the frozen blackberries and quickly and gently toss through.

Remove  pastry from fridge and peel off top sheet of paper. The pastry should be chilled but not so firm that you can’t fold the sides inward. If you do not already have a tray under the pastry, slide one under now.  Either arrange prepared fruit in an attractive pattern, or simply pile it into the middle and gently spread to leave a border of approx 8cm. Fold pastry border over fruit, peeling it from the paper underneath as you go. Sprinkle with a little extra golden castor sugar if desired. If required, trim the sides of the baking paper to fit the tray.

Place into a hot oven for approx 15 mins, then reduce to a moderate oven for approx 35 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden, and juices are bubbling. Don’t be worried if the juices look too watery, they will thicken as they cool a little.

With the open structure of the rustic tart, finely chopped nuts (especially walnuts) make a delicious addition, sprinkled over before baking.