Rhubarb Revisted...

Guess what - (on again about last few posts on rhubarb...) strawberries are high in oxalates too -- but amazingly... hazelnuts are a good source of calcium, second only to almonds... so enjoy a slice of balance : )

My mom emailed me three variations of her infamous tart. I imagine her pulling the hand scrawled papers and yellowed newspaper clippings from her blue rubber banded bible... "The McCormick's Spice Islands Cookbook".

Deciphering which one was "Mom's original strawberry rhubarb hazelnut flan" was mostly based on the degree of strawberry staining they'd each accumulated. In the end, we decided that it was likely a hybrid of them all - as she, as most great cooks, took the best elements from each recipe, and combined them into perfection. Here is a hybrid that incorporates all the elements I remember- however, I have not tested it yet...

Strawberry-Rhubarb Flan with Crisp Hazelnut Crust

Pastry
1/2 cup Hazelnuts, toasted
3 tbsp Sugar (for a less refined version try Sucanat or Rapadura)
1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour (try replacing half with whole wheat or spelt pastry flour)
1/2 tsp Salt
6 tbsp Chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 Large egg, beaten

Filling
3 cups Rhubarb, chopped (in 1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup Sugar (or Sucanat or Rapadura)
2 tbsp Cornstarch
2 tbsp Melted butter
2 cups Fresh strawberries
1/4 cups Apricot or red currant jelly

Pastry:
In a food processor, pulse toasted hazelnuts and sugar until nuts are finely ground.
Add flour and salt, process until well combined. Transfer to large bowl.

Using fingertips, work butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in egg with a fork. Do not over work - mixture should be crumbly.

Press into 10 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate for 30 min.
Prick bottom and sides with a fork. Line with foil and fill with dried beans.
Bake at 350 f (180c) for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans.

Bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden. Place on rack to cool completely.

Filling:
Combine rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Spoon into pie shell and spread out evenly.

Bake in lower half of oven at 425F for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350F and bake for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and rhubarb is tender.

Let cool thoroughly at room temperature.

Hull strawberries, cut in half and arrange, cut side down on top of cooled pie. Melt jelly in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and brush over strawberries to glaze. Let cool thoroughly before serving.


Recipe, with love added by Carol Bathgate