As he prepares to head up to Manchester for The Food Awards England event, Tempest Restaurant @ Karma Salford Hall Head Chef James Woodhams shares one of the dishes that have made his name – a tangy, buttery and altogether irresistible rhubarb tart – what could be more classically English than that?!
James Woodhams’ Rhubarb Tart
Ingredients For Poached rhubarb
Ingredients for crème patisserie
How to prepare
- Peel Rhubarb, then cut into 10cm batons. In a saucepan bring water, liqueur, sugar and vanilla seeds to the boil. Add the rhubarb and simmer for 5 mins. Then allow rhubarb to cool in the syrup until needed.
- To make the crème patisserie, heat milk with vanilla pod in. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and flour together until pale. Whilst whisking the egg mixture, pour the hot milk over, continuously stirring. After they are mixed, strain through a sieve into a saucepan and place on a gentle heat, and stir until thickened. Then allow to cool.
- Roll out the block of puff pastry until it is about the thickness of a pound coin and cut into rectangles, about 20cm x 15cm. Spread cooled crème patisserie onto the pastry leaving a 5cm border, and place strained rhubarb batons on top, arranged in neat rows. Then brush egg wash onto exposed pastry, after place in the oven at 200’c for about 20mins or until the pastry is cooked. Once out of the oven brush some of the rhubarb syrup onto the tart to glaze, and add a sprinkling of icing sugar.
