Stephanie Alexander’s rhubarb and strawberry tart

I once supervised and helped to cook this tart for 150 people in a woolshed in Victoria.

TWAM-20170408 EMBARGO FOR TWAM 8 APRIL 2017 NO RE-USE WITHOUT PERMISSION Stephanie Alexander rhubarb and strawberry tart Pic : supplied

I once supervised and helped to cook this tart for 150 people in a woolshed in Victoria, where it was served with sensational farm cream. Raspberries can be substituted for strawberries, as can slices of juicy plum. If desired, use ground-up gingernut biscuits instead of amaretti biscuits and crushed almonds.

Rhubarb & strawberry freeform tart

750g rhubarb stalks, washed and trimmed, leaves discarded

½ cup (125ml) hot water

½ cup (110g) caster sugar

Juice 1 orange

6-8 strawberries, hulled, halved

Double cream, to serve

Almond and amaretti mixture

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

50g raw almonds, crushed

2 tablespoons crushed amaretti biscuits (about 6—8)

Basic shortcrust pastry

240g plain flour; extra for dusting

Pinch salt

180g butter, chopped

¼ cup (60ml) ice-cold water

To make pastry, sift flour and salt into food processor; add butter. Pulse briefly until mixture looks like breadcrumbs. With motor running, add ice-cold water; process until mixture forms a rough ball. Lightly dust workbench with flour, tip dough out and knead briefly. Wrap in plastic film; chill for 20 minutes. Roll pastry until 5mm thick to form a 26cm round. Transfer to a baking paper-lined baking tray and chill. If rhubarb stalks are more than 2cm wide, slit in half lengthways then cut widthways into 3cm-long pieces. Simmer water, sugar and orange juice in a small stainless steel saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Drop rhubarb into syrup, turn to mix; cover and cook for 3 minutes only. Drain rhubarb in a sieve over a bowl; reserve syrup. Transfer rhubarb to another bowl and leave to cool.

To make almond and amaretti mixture, mix flour, sugar, crushed almonds and crushed biscuits. Preheat oven to 200°C. Stir ¼ cup (3 tablespoons) of almond/amaretti mixture into cooled rhubarb. Scatter another 3-4 tablespoons of the mixture over chilled pastry round, leaving a 4cm border. Pile rhubarb over almond/amaretti mixture, even out, then fold pastry edges over fruit, crimping and pleating as you go. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, tip reserved poaching syrup into small frying pan; reduce over high heat for 1-2 minutes until syrupy. Set aside. Remove tart from oven, gently press rhubarb down with egg lifter and place halved strawberries on top. Brush some syrup over pastry edges and dab a little over fruit. Bake for a further 10 minutes. Slide baking tray onto cooling rack. Cool tart for a few minutes, then brush with more syrup. When it has cooled down, slide tart onto serving platter. Serve with double cream. Serves 6

Guest chef Stephanie Alexander.

Stephanie Alexander AO is a cook, author, restaurateur and food educator. Recipe from Kitchen Garden Companion: Cooking by Stephanie Alexander (Lantern, $49.99).