Rhubarb Tart

Rhubarb is the first fruit (technically a vegetable) here.  This is such a common home garden plant in our area that it is quite difficult to find it in the stores.  Even if the home owner doesn't have a vegetable garden chances are still very good they have a rhubarb patch!  Rhubarb can be eaten fresh dipped in a little sugar, stewed then canned or made into delicious fresh pie or the pie filling can be canned for later use as well.  Not only that but rhubarb is a great extender fruit when making jams using more expensive berries like strawberries.  In fact strawberry/rhubarb is a very popular combination!

Friends of ours brought a lovely cutting of fresh rhubarb.  I have been trying to get a rhubarb patch growing since we moved here.  It was nicely taking off then someone emptied their cigarette tray near it resulting in it's demise.  Nicotine is quite toxic to some plants.  So I'm back to square one restarting the rhubarb and relying on the generous gifts of others.

I used homemade puff pastry to make a quick, easy to make rhubarb tart for dessert.  The filling was a simple rhubarb pie filling.  The end result was a nice rhubarb tart perfect for a spring dessert.  This dessert would pair nice with vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb Tart Filling
3 c fresh rhubarb
1 c organic sugar
¼ c Clear Gel*
1 tbsp butter

Wash and trim rhubarb.   Cut into half inch pieces.  Pour sugar and Clear Gel over the rhubarb and mix well.  Pour the rhubarb mixture onto the puff pastry dough in the centre.  Dab with butter.  Pull the edges up of the dough up and over the filling.  Bake at 220ºC (425ºF) until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

*This is the Clear Gel used in cooking and canning not the instant Clear Gel.  It gives nicer results than flour or regular corn starch.