sweet & sour tart

I never tried rhubarb til last night. It looked pretty icky, but when I read descriptions of rhubarb tarts and pies they described the flavor as "tart" or "sour," and as some of you know I adore sour flavors--lemon and pickles and the like.

So I picked up some rhubarb at the local mercantile, threw in some of my mother's freezer blackberries, and came up with this.

Trim rhubarb stalks (I used two large ones) and cut into pieces about 1/2 inch. Put in saucepan with about 1/4 cup butter and 1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar, dash of vanilla and dash of cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb starts to get pulpy.

Meanwhile, make a small amount of pastry from about 3/4 cup flour, 2 Tbs of butter, 2 Tbs of full-fat sour cream, a sprinkle of sugar and dash of salt. When fat is incorporated, add more flour if necessary so it is stiff and not too greasy. Divide into two balls and press into the bottoms of two small tart pans or 16-ounce ramekins.

When rhubarb is softened, turn off heat and throw in a handful of blackberries (if frozen) to thaw. You should have about 2 cups fruit and syrup.

Heat oven to 375°F.

In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, about 1-1/2 Tbs butter. Combine with fingers or fork until sandy. Stir in 1/3 cup of slivered almonds, chopped fine.

Ladle fruit mixture into prepared ramekins and divide syrup between them. Sprinkle almond-crumb mixture over the tops. Bake for about 25 minutes or until tops are crusty and browned.

I think this would be really good with vanilla yogurt. My husband ate his for breakfast today.