Eunice Power - Rhubard and Vanilla Cream Tart

Rhubarb stems burst through the soil in March, their emergence heralding the beginning of the new season. I watch over my plants and as soon as there is enough for a tart I pluck the wonderful colourful stems and make the first of many rhubarb tarts.

Rhubarbs tart flavour works well with orange, ginger, vanilla, orange flower water so don’t be afraid to experiment. We often poach rhubarb in sugar syrup, using the rhubarb for breakfast with yoghurt or in desserts such as crème brulee and pannacotta. The poaching syrup added to Prosecco makes a wonderful Rhubarb Bellini.

This year I remember my dear neighbour Joan Curran whose rhubarb tarts were legendary, Joan sadly is no longer with us but the memory of her tarts will live on forever.

The early pinks stems work best in this recipe from a visual perspective. I make this delicious tart in an oblong tin where the rhubarb fits in uniform lines.

The tin size is 11cm wide x 35 cm long

Ingredients

Pastry:

160g Plain Flour
100g Butter, cold cubed
40g Icing Sugar
2 Egg Yolks – as cold as possible
Vanilla cream:
½ vanilla pod split and seeds scraped out
375 ml milk
3 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
45g plain flour
Rhubarb:
8 stems of rhubarb
155g caster sugar
80 ml water
½ Vanilla pods – seeds scraped out

Method

Pastry base:

Put the butter, icing sugar, and egg yolks in a bowl or food processor and work together quickly. Blend in the flour to form a paste. Wrap the paste in cling film and chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Roll out pastry thinly and line a 10 inch tart tin. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with rice, bake blind for about 25 minutes or until the pastry is a pale biscuit colour. Remove from oven.

Vanilla cream:

Put the vanilla seed and milk into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, remove from the heat and allow to infuse for 15 minutes.

Mix the egg yolks, flour and sugar and add to the vanilla milk. Put the saucepan back over a gentle heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Cover with cling film and allow to cool.

For the rhubarb:

Set the oven to 150ºC

Cut the rhubarb into 10 cm lengths. Place in a roasting tin. Mix the vanilla seeds with sugar and sprinkle over the rhubarb, add the water and roast in the oven until the rhubarb is tender – about 20 minutes. Remove the rhubarb from the tin and allow to cool. Transfer the juices to a saucepan and reduce to a syrupy consistency.

To assemble:

Spoon the vanilla cream into the pastry case, top with the rhubarb and drizzle with pan juices from the rhubarb.

Photography Harry Weir www.harryweir.com (image first appeared in Food&Wine Magazine)
Food Styling Leona Humphreys www.onefineplate.com

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More recipes from Eunice Power are available on www.eunicepower.com

Room reservations can be made on www.powersfield.com - hope to see you in Dungarvan during the year.

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Eunice Power is a professional chef with over twenty years experience in the hospitality business. She runs Powersfield House in Dungarvan County Waterford, which is our B&B of the Year for 2012 and also the winner of the Best B&B Breakfast. Her philosophy is to use fresh, seasonal, locally produced food, sourced organically where possible. 

Eunice has a successful outside catering company, writes about food (she is the author of an excellent cookery book written for local company Waterford Stanley) and teaches at Paul Flynn’s Tannery Cooking School, where her enthusiasm and zest for a life filled with good food are given free rein."