First Blush

Blushing beauties

Is it my basic contrary nature that makes me want to bake on a hot Summer day, or am I just a savvy opportunist, taking advantage of the best seasonal produce — maybe I’m both? Anyway, after buying some really delicious apricots at the downtown Riverside Farmers Market last Saturday, I decided I’d buy more this weekend and use them to make the first rustic tarts of the season. As you can plainly see above, these are really special apricots, and modest, too … look at that demure blush to their downy, plump cheeks. Besides their looks, what struck me last weekend was the way the apricots from this particular vendor had an almost floral note when eaten out of hand. I thought they’d be perfect baked at high heat, in a buttery crust. I looked online for a rustic apricot tart recipe, but didn’t find one to my liking … so, I decided to use the crust recipe from my favorite rustic tart, and combine it with the filling directions for a basic apricot and cherry tart (click the highlighted links to see both). Tripling the recipes for both filling and crust, I got busy …

Cherries nestled

Success — all three tarts came out of the oven looking picture-perfect! And, they tasted as good as they looked, too: Crust was crisp and buttery, with a bit of crunch from polenta, and just the scent of orange; apricots were soft and tartly sweet, creating their own sauce inside the folded crust as they melted in the oven’s heat; cherries added another fruity note that was less-tart, complementing the ‘cots nicely. The stone fruits that appear in Summer’s farmer’s market all make great pies and tarts, but I’m thinking that I’ll go for some of the gorgeous plums I saw on offer next time. Then nectarines … then peaches … I wonder how pluots would work with frangipane?