Pink Rhubarb

The color of this wonderful plant is enough to make you buy it on a whim. Especially if you come across it early in Spring when nothing else is yet as luminous and enticing in the produce section.
That is certainly what happened to me.

I had the presence of mind to grab a packet of puff pastry too and just followed my usual blue print for a delicious fruit tarte.

I did take the extra step of stewing the rhubarb first... It might have been tender enough to skip it in hindsight but I didn't want to take any chances.

Ingredients:

3 stalks of rhubarb (Of course I went for the pinkest ones to be had)
2 tablespoons of sugar
ca. 1/2 a cup of water

Puff pastry, go for the unrolled one as it will rise better
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of ground almonds (If you are allergic you can substitute these with crushed cereal, for example Special K)

1. Chop the rhubarb roughly and add the sugar and water in a pan. Let it come to the boil and then simmer until tender with the lid on. It takes 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Roll out your pastry to fit your tin. Measure it generously as Puff pastry tends to shrink in size while baking. If you feel so inclined you can sprinkle a bit of sugar into the tin before placing the pastry on top. This will give you a lovely caramelized crust. Spread the ground almonds evenly, these will help soak up the additional moisture in the fruit.
3.With a slotted spoon transfer your cooled rhubarb out of the pot and onto the pastry. Sprinkle with sugar.
4. Bake in the middle of your oven for ca. 25 minutes. In the meantime cook your remaining stewing liquid to a sirupy texture.
5. Serve your rhubarb tarte with a coulis of the sirup and a dollop of whipped cream.