Rustic Strawberry & Black Pepper Tart for Two

This recipe is from the June/July issue of Eating Well — the same issue with the Chipotle-Cherry Chicken dish. There were actually quite a few recipes from this issue that I really want to try.

Too bad that Spencer knocked a big cup of water all over it and the magazine is now all wrinkly and dried-out, after being completely water-logged. This was practically a full cup of water, mind you, that jwa left on the coffee table overnight. They are a good team, those two.

Speaking of twosomes, this tart, as mentioned in the title, is for two. In the accompanying Eating Well article, the authors lamented that when a full pie or tart is bought by a twosome, well, over-indulgence ensues. And yeah, during the first couple of pieces this doesn’t seem like a bad thing but when you are wiping the very last of the crumbs from your mouth and looking across the table from your equally-stuffed, equally-crumbed partner in crime? Well, a tart for two seems like it might have been a much better idea.

The crust for this was very easy and turned out nice and flaky. I liked the simple, fold-up presentation of this tart. With fresh strawberries ( and a little fresh, whipped cream), what else do you need?

Rustic Strawberry & Black Pepper Tart for Two
1/2 cup AP flour (or 1/4 cup AP flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 chunks
1 tbsp canola or walnut oil
1/4 tsp distilled white vinegar
1-2 tbsp ice-cold water

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp AP flour
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
Optional: heavy whipping cream for whipping, plus a little sugar and vanilla

Mix flour, sugar and salt in a food processor or a big bowl. Add butter and pulse until it resembles small peas. Alternatively, cut the butter in with a fork or pastry blender. If using a processor, transfer to a bowl.

Stir in the oil and vinegar. Add enough water until the dough comes together (it’ll still be a little crumbly).

Gather it into a ball and pat down to a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Putting it Together
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment paper, a silpat mat or aluminum foil on your work surface and turn out dough. Dust dough with flour and roll out to about a 9-inch circle. The best part of rustic is that it doesn’t have to be perfect! Transfer the baking sheet.

Toss the strawberries with the sugar, flour, cornstarch pepper and salt. Mound the strawberry mixture in the center of the dough, leaving about a 2-inch border.

Pick up the edges of the dough using a spatula or just using the paper or mat to roll it up a bit and fold over, on top of the berries, just going up the side. Don’t cover the berries.

Bake the tart until the crust is golden and the strawberries are bubbly, 40-42 minutes. The strawberry sauce will run a little bit — that’s okay. Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before cutting in half and serving.

Garnish with fresh whipped cream if desired.

Edited to add:
I also should mention something about the pepper, which I forgot to do earlier. I liked the pepper/strawberry combination quite a bit. It’s not very much pepper — so don’t worry. It just spices the sweetness of the strawberries up a bit. Give it a try if you haven’t!