I don't usually buy fruit out of season, but several weeks ago, the produce market had beautiful blueberries on the shelf. I subsequently bought 2 pints, and used a half pint for a blueberry frangipane tart (more on this later). The remaining berries were in the refrigerator for several days, waiting patiently for me to do something with them. But what? Another tart? Why not?
As you might have noticed, I have been making a lot of tarts lately. This has been, in part, to experiment with different recipes and to improve my technique. The experiment is going well, and the staff in my building (who get most of the spoils) seem to be satisfied with the results.
Many recipes for fruit tarts (and pies) call for flour as a thickening agent. I prefer to use tapioca, which produces a silky filling, without clumps or a pasty after taste. When making blueberry (or peach) filling, I also like to add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, which is a natural complement to both fruits.
This tart would have been nice with just the fruit filling, but I decided to add an oatmeal crumb topping for extra crunch. It was a good choice. As you can see below, we cut into the tart before it had cooled. And it was delicious.
Here is the recipe. Enjoy!
