Blueberries!!! Part 1 - Blueberry Tart

 

I am super happy that it's been a great season with my blueberries bushes.  I harvested very little last year from the four that we have, so this year I didn't have very high expectations.  But-- they all started to flower, blossom and fruit around late June very nicely, right before our month trip away from home.  When we got back home in August, the berries were just getting started.  I finally harvested the last batch a few days ago.  We had about 2 buckets full total, about 5 kg.  Best ever in the past 6 years.

I'm not sure what contributed to such a great blueberry season this year for us, but sites like this one give some tips on how to grow blueberries. 

I made these tarts for the barter event at Harvest Fair hosted by Seattle Tilth. I went with my friends a few weeks back.  Most people brought canned items. I was happy that I got a few canned goodies in return for my tarts.  (Someone even offered to buy some!)

By the way, one reason my posts here have been so few and far between is that I was taking a ceramic class at college.  It ate up a lot of my time and effort.  So it's sort of nice to use one of the ceramic pieces I made on this post!  It's the bluish plate that the tart is plated on.  Making ceramic pieces was very fun and even therapeutic.

To be continued with Blueberry Part 2.

Recipe (makes about 6 medium tarts):

Dough

find it here!



Fillings

5 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1 small lemon juiced
2 tablespoons corn starch


Topping: (optional)


crème fraîche
1 tablespoon sugar

 Combine butter, flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest In a food processor. Pulse until it looks like finely grated Parmigiano. Add egg yolk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse until the mixture comes together. If it seems a bit dry add a little more water and pulse, pulse, pulse. The mixture should come together into a ball. Dump the whole thing out onto a clean lightly floured work surface. Knead the mixture 1 or 2 times only to make it a smooth ball. Using a rolling pin or your fingers roll or press the dough out to an even circle about 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Wrap it with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix until everything is well coated with sugar and corn starch.  Move the mixture into a pan and cook for about 20 minutes at medium heat.  Stir occasionally.

Take out a muffin tin. Cut parchment paper into squares to fit in your muffin shape as pictured.  Make sure to cut it big enough to wrap up a tart in. Mine were 5"x5" each.  

Roll out the dough 1/4" thick and cut out 6 squares about half the size of the square parchment paper.  Place a piece of square dough onto a flat parchment paper.  Place it carefully into each muffin hole by pushing the middle in and inside all around. 

Use a spoon to put filling inside muffin holes.  Wet the edge of the dough with water, sprinkle coarse sugar and place the tin in the oven.  Bake for 40 minutes.  

Serve the tarts with crème fraîche (optional)