RHUBARB & GINGER JAM TART WITH AMANDINE SEPULCRE

This peak season Rhubarb comes from Mathieu and Valentin in Saint-Riquier, France; they grow over 100 varieties of rhubarb (15 of which are actually edible), cycling through vastly diverse varieties throughout their June-September season. Here Amandine uses the Mikoot variety, which is known for its acidity – her sweet-spicy ginger jam serves to balance this out, allowing the rhubarb to shine through.

There are many ways to prepare rhubarb; Amandine adds dimension to this dessert by introducing the rhubarb in three separate ways: cooking it into jam, pickling it and working whole pieces into the finished tart.

Rhubarb Tart with Ginger Jam, served with Semifreddo

Ingredients

Rhubarb and ginger jam:

650g rhubarb
650g sugar
15g fresh ginger
50g preserved stem ginger

Shortcrust pastry:

120g butter
85g icing sugar
20g almond meal / powder
40g whole eggs
½ vanilla bean (optional)
2g fine salt
210g flour

Almond cream:

140g almond meal
140g unsalted butter
140g sugar
2 egg
2tbsp dark rum (30ml)
2tbsp corn starch (30g)
150g rhubarb in chunks

Method

For the rhubarb and ginger jam:

1. Wash and trim the Rhubarb and cut it into 1-inch pieces.

2. Crush fresh ginger in a mortar and pestle (or with the back of a knife to bruise and release flavor). Put the rhubarb and fresh ginger in a bowl, add sugar, mix well and cover. Leave to stand overnight.

3. Chop the stem ginger preserved in syrup into small pieces. Add all ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Boil for another 5 minutes. Let cool and reserve the jam.

For the pickled rhubarb:

4. Cut the rhubarb into small bite-size pieces.

5. In a pan, add the rhubarb, balsamic vinegar and Saba, bring it to a boil and let cook for 1 minute.

6. Remove the rhubarb and reduce the liquid to a third. Reserve half for semifreddo; for the other half, you can put the rhubarb back in and reserve it for plating.

For the semifreddo:

7. For the meringue, whip 3 egg whites until they turn white and begin to stiffen. Then add 60g sugar and whip to stiff peaks.

8. Whip 235g heavy cream until it begins to get stiff. Then add 60g sugar and whip to stiff peaks

9. Fold the whipped cream into the meringue ⅓ at a time until incorporated. Add the balsamic Rhubarb reduction. Freeze for at least 8h (best overnight).