Rhubarb tart 1938.

She once was engaged to a man, but it was not to last. She lived her life as a spinster taking care of other people, baking cakes for her brother, for her sister’s grandchildren, for another woman’s husband.

Gå til norsk versjon

My great-aunt, my grandmother’s sister, was born on June 11, 1914, on a small island in the North of Norway. She was one among seven siblings. As a young girl she had the same hopes as other girls, but she did not get far.

For seven years she was engaged to a man from the same little place as herself, but he moved to the city and found somebody else. My great-aunt was left on the island. She lived in a household with her extended family. Her brother, her sister and her sister’s husband. Her brother suffered from tuberculosis that attacked his spine. He survived the disease also called the white plague – but his height decreased from 1.90 meters to 1.50 and put him in a wheelchair. My great-aunt took care of him, fed him and washed his clothes.

When her brother died, she was left with her sister and her brother-in-law. My grandparents. She was a bystander to their marriage, their children and their grandchildren. How strange it must have been to live alongside their happiness and sorrows.

My great-aunt (to the right) and her sister.

In 1938, when she was 24 years old, she entered school to study Home economics (husmorskolen). Cleaning, nutrition, handicrafts and cooking were parts of the curriculum. Then WW2 came to Norway and to our little island. Every little island and remote area was invaded by the Germans. But in contrast to the northernmost parts of Norway, this part of Norway escaped Hitler’s policy of scorched earth.

Later she joined the Home Mission Movement. Religion brought her God but also off the island. Every summer she joined the missionary boat sailing along the Norwegian coast. She made the journey with her friend. The two spinsters found each other.

My great-aunt was the last one in our family to live in the big old wooden house. The house with the view to the fjord and the mountains of the Senja islands. There are no wedding photographs from her life. Nor pictures of toddlers opening up their christmas gifts. Still, she became a grandmother for us kids.

Was she happy? Was this the life she wanted? I never asked her.

All I have is her cookbook from 1938. All recipes from her year at Home Economics school she wrote down in her cookbook. One of them was a tart with rhubarb or almonds. Today it is a memory of my great-aunt.

The rhubarb jam has a slightly brownish colour before oven baked. After that it turns dark red.

This makes one big tart or about four individual tarts. Making individual ones is easier when dealing with gluten-free dough as it easily breaks. In contrast to traditional French tarts with shortcrust pastry, this pastry is easier to succeed with and does not require blind baking. The pastry, which consists of butter, flour, sugar and eggs, resembles sweet shortcrust pastry (pâte sucrée). It is filled with slow-cooked and caramelized rhubarb jam.

Rhubarb tart

Rhubarb jam:
600 g / 21 oz peeled rhubarb
200 g / 7 oz sugar

Sweet pastry:
1 egg
75 g / 2½ oz sugar
120 g / 4½ oz butter, softened
250 g / 8½ oz gluten-free or ordinary flour
1 tsp baking powder

1. Cut the rhubarb in pieces and place them in a pan with the sugar. Let the rhubarb rest overnight – the sugar will produce rhubarb juice. When you boil the jam you do not add any water so this  ”juicing process” is important.

2. The next day boil the rhubarb for about an hour on medium heat without cover. If you use green rhubarb, the colour should be brownish red. Cooking sugar this long will darken the colour and thicken the jam. When finished, let the jam cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/Gas 4.

4. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale colour. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Mix in the flour and the baking powder until the mixture comes together as a ball.

5. Roll out 2/3 of the dough on a lightly dusted surface. Transfer it to a flan ring, ideally with a removable base. Spoon over the jam.

6. Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the dough on a lightly dusted surface. Use a rolling-pin and a pastry wheel to make a nice top.

7. Bake for about 45 minutes (or 30 minutes if individual pies).

More recipes with rhubarb?

Pink rhubarb lemonade with lime
Rhubarb crumble with oats and nuts

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Few things bring childhood back as much as rhubarb. Few things evoke summer as rhubarb does.

Gå til norsk versjon

In my mind there is a garden, I would have shown it to you
A north wind garden facing an open fjord
There a childhood is still waving with the rhubarb
The word rhubarb is a word of summer
(“You should have been here” by Kari Bremnes)

I hodet mitt har æ en hage, æ ville ha vist dæ den,
En nordavindshage ut mot en åpen fjord
Der vaie fremdeles en barndom ilamme rabarbraen
Ordet rabarbra e veldig et sommerord
(“Du skulle vært her” av Kari Bremnes)

In my childhood’s garden in the North of Norway our rhubarb was also facing an open fjord. The hardy plant defied the Norwegian summer and thrived in our garden. My mother made rhubarb soup or rhubarb compote from the green stalks. Today I buy my rhubarb from the shop, but my mother keeps some in the freezer waiting for me.

Reds are sweet and greens are sour

There are several types of rhubarb. Some are deep red or green while others are red skinned or speckled. The red is sweeter than the green, hence it is more popular. The red skinned rhubarb yields a pale red colour if you cook it with the skin.

Whatever variant you use, avoid the leaves as they are toxic. The rhubarb itself is also toxic (along with spinach and beets), but then you have to eat several kilos. Moderation is the key. To quote the Norwegian journalist Joachim Lund: ”Health in every drop, poison in every pint”.

Marcie in a coat of flowers
Steps inside a candy store
Reds are sweet and greens are sour
Still no letter at her door
So she’ll wash her flower curtains
Hang them in the wind to dry
Dust her tables with his shirt and
Wave another day goodbye

Marcie’s faucet needs a plumber
Marcie’s sorrow needs a man
Red is autumn green is summer
Greens are turning and the sand
All along the ocean beaches
Stares up empty at the sky
Marcie buys a bag of peaches
Stops a postman passing by
And summer goes
Falls to the sidewalk like string and brown paper
Winter blows
Up from the river there’s no one to take her
To the sea
(“Marcie” by Joni Mitchell)

From my great aunt I have learned that mixing rhubarb with sugar will produce rhubarb juice. Adding sugar to berries (you only need a couple of spoons) will always produce a nice coating of juice (called macerating) and this enhances the flavour. Because rhubarb is so sour, it tolerates a lot of sugar, hence it produces a lot of juice. This is an advantage. Add as little water to the lemonade as possible – let the rhubarb and lime shine.

Rhubarb lemonade (makes about 1,5 litre)

600 g rhubarb
400 g sugar
3,5 limes
1 litre water
ice cubes

1. Wash the rhubarb stalks and trim the ends. Cut the stalks into pieces. If the rhubarb is red skinned or speckled, leave the skin on if you want the red colour. Place them in a pan with the sugar. Let the rhubarb rest for at least an hour – the sugar will produce rhubarb juice.

2. Now add the water and bring to boil for only a minute. Leave to cool for the flavours to develop.

3. Transfer the rhubarb to a sieve and push it through with a spoon, collecting all liquid in a bowl. Now add the juice of 3 limes.

4. Slice the remaining lime as garnish. This makes a pretty strong flavour, so you can add a lot of ice cubes without diluting the wonderful flavour. Or add rum, but that is a different story.

Next time I will make a rhubarb tart that my great aunt used to make. She made many cakes and watched many summers pass by with no one to call her own.

More rhubarb recipes?

Rhubarb crumble
Rhubarb tart 1938

The post Rhubarb lemonade appeared first on Nordic Diner.

Rhubarb crumble.

Rhubarb is perfect for the rather cold and moist British and Norwegian summers and is adored in both countries, but the country where rhubarb originates from is China where it has been known for 3 000 years. In China rhubarb is not eaten but used in medicine where the roots are dried. It was also considered as medicine when it first arrived in Norway in the 18th century. We did not consume rhubarb as food until English rhubarb species came to Norway a century later. So thanks, mates!

In the USA rhubarb is called the pie plant, but rhubarb is also divine in a crumble or cobbler. Crumble is extremely versatile as you can make it using many types of fruit or berries. Also, if you have food allergies, crumble is perfect. It does not contain eggs and the flour can be substituted by nuts or oats. You can also use gluten-free flour. However, even simple dishes have rules.

Rules of making crumble

1. First you need a fruit or berry with lots of juice that keeps its shape and does not disintegrate easily. You need a fruit that can stand the heat. A cooking fruit or berry. So oranges and strawberries are too fragile while apples are too dry. The best options are cherries, rhubarb, peaches and plums. Apples are always good in desserts, but pair them with cherries or plums in a crumble.

2. For the topping use mix your flour with oats and nuts to impart more flavour and crunch.

3. A crumble should not be overtly sweet, so add some lemon juice with the fruit in addition to sugar. This will make the flavour sing, to quote Jamie Oliver. Lemon is not necessary when using rhubarb or sour berries.

Rhubarb crumble before it is baked in the oven.

Rhubarb crumble with nuts and oats.

Rhubarb crumble (3–4):

300 g / 10 oz peeled rhubarb
50 g / 1,7 oz sugar

Almond topping:
30 g / 1 oz demerara sugar
40 g/ 1½ oz butter
½ tsp ground cinnamon
40 g / 1½ oz flour (or gluten-free flour)
40 g / 1½ oz oats
40 g / 1½ oz almonds
20 g / 1 oz almond flour (ground almonds)

If you are allergic to nuts substitute the almonds with oats. When I grind almonds, I always grind the whole package (250 g). The rest of the almond flour is great to use in other cakes, like brownies, banana cake and many others.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Wash the rhubarb stalks, peel the skin off and trim the ends. Cut the stalks into pieces. Place them in an oven tray with the sugar. Let them rest for half an hour – the sugar will start to produce rhubarb juice!

3. Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle on top of the rhubarb.

4. Bake in the oven for about 20–30 minutes. When finished the topping should be slightly brown and the filling bubbling. Serve while still a bit warm with your best ice cream.

Next time I will continue with more rhubarb, making the most beautiful pink lemonade.

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