Rhubarb Custard Tart

By t1bishop

MAKES ONE lO-INCH TART
The rhubarb for this tart is tossed with
sugar and refrigerated overnight, so
plan accordingly. You may want to make
the dough the day before as well.

Ingredients

• DOUGH
• stick plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup sugar
• large egg, beaten
• 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water
• Pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• FILLING
• 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, stalks only,
• trimmed and cut into 1 by 1/2 inch pieces
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons Pernod, ouzo or anisette
• 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of salt

Preparation

Step 1

I. MAKE THE DOUGH: In a food processor, combine the butter with
the sugar, egg, 1 tablespoon of water
and the salt. Pulse 2 or 3 times, until
crumbly. Add the flour and pulse 1
more time. Turn the dough out onto
a lightly floured work surface and knead it lightly until it comes together, adding up to 1 more tablespoon of water as
needed. Cut the dough in half and pat
it into 2 disks. Wrap the disks in plastic. Refrigerate 1 disk for at least 1 hour, until the dough is very firm; freeze the second disk for later use.
2. MAKE THE FILLING: In a glass
or ceramic bowl, toss the rhubarb with
113 cup of the sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°. Let the
chilled disk of dough soften slightly. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 14-inch round. Fit the dough into a 10 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a fluted porcelain quiche pan; press the dough gently into the bottom and up the sides of the pan without stretching. Prick the bottom of
the tart shell all over with a fork and refrigerate the tart shell for at least 20 minutes, or until thoroughly chilled and firm.
4. Line the tart shell with foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the shell for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until the tart shell is golden brown. Remove the tart-shell from the oven and let cool. Increase the oven temperature to 400°.
5. Drain the rhubarb in a colander set
over a large skillet; press firmly on the rhubarb to extract as much juice as
possible. Boil the rhubarb juice over
high heat until it is syrupy and reduced to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the rhubarb to the pan and toss it in the syrup until coated. Stir in the Pernod and orange zest. Let the rhubarb cool to room temperature.
6. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the
egg yolk, cream, salt and the remaining
V3 cup of sugar. Distribute the
rhubarb evenly in the tart shell and
pour half of the custard over it; let
the custard settle slightly in the shell, then pour on the rest.
7. Bake the tart until the rhubarb is tender and the custard is golden brown
and set, about 30 minutes. Transfer
the rhubarb tart to a rack and let cool
completely. Serve the tart at room temperature directly from the porcelain
quiche pan, or unmold the tart before
cutting it into wedges.
MAKE AHEAD The dough can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 1 month.