RECIPE: Cherry and Blueberry Tart

Bluedot Living will regularly run recipes and tips from Pascale Beale, the popular Santa Barbara-based chef, teacher, and cookbook author.

Beale has long been a proponent of cooking with in-season ingredients. “Anyone who has eaten a mealy, bland tomato in winter compared to a sun-ripened juicy tomato in the summer can taste the difference eating seasonally makes,” Beale told Bluedot contributing editor Catherine Walthers in this conversation. “Every season has its own stars, I believe it’s worth waiting for them.”

She is also passionate about using every last bit of food in your pantry, and in her regular cooking classes (available online), she stresses to make the most of what you’ve already got. “There is so, so much food waste,” she told Walthers. “Learn to make the most of leftovers, the carcass from a roast chicken kept to make stock for example. I like to do something called a TDF (Tour de Frigidaire), something made out of all the little bits and pieces left in the fridge.”

This recipe first appeared on Beale’s website, where she wrote: 

“My grandparents lived in the French Alps, surrounded by breathtaking alpine valleys. In the summer, that meant hiking was an almost daily activity, entered into with near manic enthusiasm by every member of my family. We’d rise before dawn to be at the trailhead by sun-up. We would walk through the morning chill, up into flower-carpeted meadows, through high altitude pine groves, and then up above the tree line to distant, aqua-tinted, snow-fed lakes where we would rest, have a picnic and just breathe in the scenery. After the long trek back down the mountain, we’d always stop at one of the local cafes and order tarte aux myrtilles. We consumed these tongue staining blueberry tarts as we sat with our feet in the freezing water of a nearby stream. On the days we did not hike, we helped my grandmother harvest fruit in her garden, including dark black, luscious cherries that two withered trees produced in staggering quantities. I think that she would have liked this tart that combines those two summertime treats.”

RECIPE: Cherry and Blueberry Tart

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Pascale Beale

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the tart shell:

• 9 oz (1 3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 5 1/2 oz butter — cut into small pieces
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon pistachios — chopped
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 1 large egg
• Pinch of salt

For the quick jam:

• 3/4 lb cherries — pitted
• 4 oz (9 tablespoons) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
• Zest and Juice of 1 lemon — rinds reserved

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Instructions

For the tart shell:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Butter a 12-inch tart pan.
3. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough forms a ball. 
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until ready to use. (You can make the dough ahead of time and remove it from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)
5. On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 14-inch circle, ¼-inch thick. Line the tart pan with the dough. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and then prick the dough with a fork. 
6. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes until just golden. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and return the tart shell to the oven to bake for 5 more minutes. The shell should be golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

For the quick jam:

1. Place all of the ingredients (including the lemon rinds) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Cook for 10-13 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms. The jam is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

To assemble the tart:
2 lbs cherries — pitted
1 lb blueberries

1. Combine the cherries, blueberries and jam in a large bowl. Pour the jam filling into the prepared tart shell and top with the fresh fruit.