Many years ago, we lived just south of Paris and were blessed with a large garden, most unusual, even in our neighborhood, because of the way our city block was shaped. The front garden was wide, about 40 feet across, narrowing down by almost 20 feet by the time you got behind the house to the backyard, a large pie-piece shaped garden with the tip cut off. In the front, we had all the hazelnuts we could eat, courtesy of the left side neighbor, Madame Coucou, so named by us because she would call to me from her porch, “Cou cou!” In the back, we had a fabulous sweet cherry tree that produced more cherries than we could possibly use, no matter that we ate them steadily and made jam and pies and cherry bounce. We gave them away to friends and neighbors. What I didn’t know until our last year there, was that we also had rhubarb in the front yard. My in-laws came to visit and pointed it out, all hidden under a large bush, so low to the ground. How could we have missed it! Rhubarb is one of our favorite things. My excitement at the discovery was tinged with sadness for the years of missed crops.
Now every summer we eagerly await rhubarb season, when a few choice stalks can be purchased and pie can be baked. Often it is apple and rhubarb, but occasionally sweet yellow nectarines also make their irresistible appearance. Summer means a hot kitchen so cooking the fruit on the stove and quick baking puff pastry lets me crank the oven up and then turn it off rather than baking a whole fruit pie for an hour or more. You could do this with any seasonal fruit.
Ingredients
3 stalks rhubarb
2 ripe nectarines
3-4 tablespoons vanilla sugar or normal sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Good pinch salt
2 sheets puff pastry (about 8in x 8in or 20cm x 20cm)
1/2 cup or 120ml whipping cream
Method
Preheat to 400°F or 200°C. Fold your sheets of puff pastry in half and then in half again.
Cut around the square with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors to create a circle – or, honestly, leave it square if you want. I just think the circles are prettier. But do trim the edges off all around. Freshly cut puff pastry puffs up way more successfully.
Use a large round cookie cutter to score a circle in the middle of the puff pastry. Do not cut all the way through.
Dock the middle of the circles with the tines of a fork. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and is golden all over. Meanwhile, chop the rhubarb into chunks.
Cut the nectarines in half and remove the pits. Cut in chunks.
Put the fruit in a small pot with the 3 tablespoons sugar and salt.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is completely softened and the nectarines are cooked. Taste and add the extra sugar if necessary. Set aside to cool.
When the puff pastry is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut around the scored circle with a sharp pointy knife and then gently press it down, creating a hole for the fruit. Set aside.
When you are ready to serve, whip the cream and fill the pastry shells with fruit and then top with whipped cream.
Enjoy!
