1 recipe almond tart dough
3 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons honey
now. it must be explained. i was meant to make a pie today. i had a very basic pie dough recipe in front of me. as i was instructed (challenged, really) by my dear sister to back up my baking bus. to perhaps start at the beginning of a cookbook. not just find the most exciting recipe or the loveliest of flavors but to instead perfect the basics.
and so. i set out to make a basic blueberry pie.
yet clearly there is a mechanism in my brain which malfunctions when it comes to recipes.
and i wandered off the clearly marked path...
and into the land of the tarragon tart!
maybe next time, j. maybe next time.
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tart dough
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup pastry flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
2 tsp salt
5.5 oz vegetable shortening (cold)
3 oz butter (cold)
ice water
mix together your dry ingredients, cut in your butter, then the shortening. add water, a bit at a time, until the dough comes together. divide in two. wrap in plastic, chill for two hours. (makes enough dough for two nine inch tarts)
preheat your oven to 350f. roll out one of your doughs and place in a nine inch tart tin. (your dough may be crumbly. but fear not! tart dough is super forgiving. just press it in. and even out the edges.) toss fresh (or in this case frozen...for some time) berries, chopped tarragon, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a bowl. pour into the tart tin. drizzle with honey.
place the tin on a baking sheet.
and bake for about 45 minutes.
cool before cutting.
notes:
-i might reverse the ratios of butter and shortening and add a couple tablespoons of sugar to the dough.
-i served the tart with whipped cream (with lemon zest in it) and then sprinkled with lemon as well.
-and this tart may have proven that three years, yes three, might be too long to keep blueberries in your freezer. even if your mother picked them.
