RECIPE: Cherry and Blueberry Tart

Author:

Category:

Bluedot Living will regularly run recipes and tips from Pascale Beale, the popular Santa Barbara-based chef, teacher, and cookbook author.

Beale has long been a proponent of cooking with in-season ingredients. “Anyone who has eaten a mealy, bland tomato in winter compared to a sun-ripened juicy tomato in the summer can taste the difference eating seasonally makes,” Beale told Bluedot contributing editor Catherine Walthers in this conversation. “Every season has its own stars, I believe it’s worth waiting for them.”

She is also passionate about using every last bit of food in your pantry, and in her regular cooking classes (available online), she stresses to make the most of what you’ve already got. “There is so, so much food waste,” she told Walthers. “Learn to make the most of leftovers, the carcass from a roast chicken kept to make stock for example. I like to do something called a TDF (Tour de Frigidaire), something made out of all the little bits and pieces left in the fridge.”

This recipe first appeared on Beale’s website, where she wrote: 

“My grandparents lived in the French Alps, surrounded by breathtaking alpine valleys. In the summer, that meant hiking was an almost daily activity, entered into with near manic enthusiasm by every member of my family. We’d rise before dawn to be at the trailhead by sun-up. We would walk through the morning chill, up into flower-carpeted meadows, through high altitude pine groves, and then up above the tree line to distant, aqua-tinted, snow-fed lakes where we would rest, have a picnic and just breathe in the scenery. After the long trek back down the mountain, we’d always stop at one of the local cafes and order tarte aux myrtilles. We consumed these tongue staining blueberry tarts as we sat with our feet in the freezing water of a nearby stream. On the days we did not hike, we helped my grandmother harvest fruit in her garden, including dark black, luscious cherries that two withered trees produced in staggering quantities. I think that she would have liked this tart that combines those two summertime treats.”

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Cherry-Blueberry-Tart-Pascale-Beale

RECIPE: Cherry and Blueberry Tart


  • Author: Pascale Beale

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the tart shell:

  • 9 oz (1 3/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 5 1/2 oz butter — cut into small pieces
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon pistachios — chopped
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • Pinch of salt

For the quick jam:

  • 3/4 lb cherries — pitted
  • 4 oz (9 tablespoons) sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
  • Zest and Juice of 1 lemon — rinds reserved

Instructions

For the tart shell:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Butter a 12-inch tart pan.
  3. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Use longer pulses until the dough forms a ball. 
  4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until ready to use. (You can make the dough ahead of time and remove it from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)
  5. On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 14-inch circle, ¼-inch thick. Line the tart pan with the dough. Trim the edges with a sharp knife and then prick the dough with a fork. 
  6. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes until just golden. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and return the tart shell to the oven to bake for 5 more minutes. The shell should be golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

For the quick jam:

  1. Place all of the ingredients (including the lemon rinds) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 
  2. Cook for 10-13 minutes, skimming off any foam that forms. The jam is ready when it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

To assemble the tart:
2 lbs cherries — pitted
1 lb blueberries

  1. Combine the cherries, blueberries and jam in a large bowl. Pour the jam filling into the prepared tart shell and top with the fresh fruit.

Latest Stories

Making More from Less

On a warm November afternoon, a gentle breeze blows through the vineyard in front of the...

A Kinder Silk

Throughout the ages, silk products have been symbols of grace, luxury, and refinement. However, the standard...

Climate Champ: Joanna Underwood

I arrived early to Joanna Underwood’s charming 1800s brownstone near Union Square in New York City....

Building Houses and Independence

In 2022, Pakistan was devastated by unprecedented floods that left millions displaced and without homes in...
Pascale Beale
Pascale Beale
Pascale Beale grew up in England and France surrounded by a family which has always been passionate about food, wine, and the arts. She was taught to cook by her French mother and grandmother. After graduating from Business School in London, and 15 years working in the property markets in California, she returned to her first passion, cooking. She opened the Pascale’s Kitchen Cooking School in 1999 which specializes in farmer’s market tours, seasonal cooking classes, bread making workshops and team building events. Her company also brings a range of culinary products, including her signature line of custom blended herbs and spices, oils and vinegars, kitchen and tableware, to its customers, making cooking pleasurable, delicious and fun. Pascale is also the author of 10 Mediterranean style, and ingredient focused cook books and is an award winning columnist for Edible Santa Barbara. She released her latest book, 9’ x 12’: Adventures in a Small Kitchen, Recipes for Stirring Times, a subscription based, multi-media book 9 x 12 | Pascale's Kitchen | Pascale Beale | Substack in January 2023.
Read More

Related Articles

4 COMMENTS

    • Ok- looks like we left it out of the “To assemble the tart” directions. It should read To assemble the tart:
      2 lbs cherries — pitted
      1 lb blueberries ‘
      Combine the cherries, blueberries, (etc).

LEAVE A REPLY

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here