Planet of beauty and love

Passport & Plate - Blueberry Tart

United Kingdom | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Pastry:
250g flour
175g butter
20g sugar
1 egg
1/2 tbsp water

Filling:
500g blueberries (or blackberries)
2 eggs
125g sugar (up to 200g for less sweet berries)
175ml double cream (homemade cream would also be great)
25g flour

 

How to prepare this recipe
Mix the flour and butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar, egg and water. Form into a pastry ball. Place the pastry into the fridge to cool for 40 minutes. Lightly butter the baking dish. Spread the pastry with your fingers all over the dish. Don’t forget the edges: they need to be even and tall enough. Return the pastry to the fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the berries in the chilled pastry case. Mix together the eggs, sugar, cream and flour until smooth and poor over the berries. Bake for 35 minutes. The tart tastes the best when it is cold.

 

The story behind this recipe
There are recipes that are interesting because of their own story and then there are recipes that become a part of your story. I could talk to you about the Smoked Salmon recipe I heard from a Scottish guy in California, or the famous Carpathian Cep soup I learned from an old lady in a mountain village, or I could even convince my Mom to give up our family secret - all-time favorite Stuffed Fish recipe. However, the recent dreadful events in my beloved country showed me that the most important things in life are the ones that unite friends and family and convey emotions of love and peace. Simple food is one of those things. When you cook together with your friends, share a dinner with your family, you give them your love. Today I’ll tell the tale of the Blueberry Tart. In 2008 I found out that one of my favorite authors Joanne Harris has two cook books based on her family history. A couple of months later while being in London I bought French Kitchen and French Market and couldn’t get enough of the stories and the recipes. When I came back home to Ukraine, I was still not sure which one of these amazing recipes I should make first. However, the farmers markets are often our guides. As I was wandering the local market, I found beautiful blueberries and an old lady selling her home churned butter. A friend called me to say that she had some sad news. The decision was obvious - I made my first Blueberry Tart for my friend. Needless to say, by the end of the evening the sad news was no longer the topic of conversation and the tart...well the tart was all gone. The next tart was for a friend’s birthday, then just for my husband; and so it continues until today - this recipe has become my signature. It’s the one recipe my friends and family associate me with. It became my story. It is one I associate with love, friendship, and happy memories. Whenever you find beautiful blueberries at the market don’t hesitate and make an amazing Blueberry Tart for your loved ones.