Tart de ffruyte - A Tart of Fruit (with salmon)

I was looking for interesting recipes that used figs, and this time I found one that wasn't a dessert or other sugary preparation.   It is from the book Take a Thousand Eggs or More, a Collection of 15th Century Recipes by Cindy Renfrow.  In particular, this is Volume Two.

ISBN 0-9628598-2-6

Ms. Renfrow gives us the original recipes from a variety of medieval English manuscripts and also her translations.  Some recipes she adapted for the modern kitchen.  The recipe I chose is on page 58, under the section labeled "FISH -- salmon".  

Tart of fruit

Take figs, and seethe them in wine, and grind them small, And take them up into a vessel; And take powdered pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Maces, powdered ginger, pine nuts, great raisins of Corinth, saffron, and salt, and cast thereto; and then make fair low coffins, and put this stuff therein, And plant pine nuts above; and cut dates and fresh salmon in fair pieces, or else fresh eels, and parboil them in a little wine, and put them thereon; And cover the coffins fair with the same paste, and glaze the coffin without with saffron & almond milk; and set them in the oven and let bake.

My Redaction

1 lb. fresh figs, stems removed, about 20.  (Or less if dried, see notes below.)

1/2 cup red wine

A small handful of almonds, about 1/2 ounce by weight; chopped, ground, or pounded into small pieces

4 or 5 threads of saffron

About 1/2 cup boiling water

enough pie crust dough to make a double crust

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/16 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground mace

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup pine nuts, divided in half

 1/2 cup currants

another 6 or so threads of saffron, crushed between your fingers

1/8 tsp. salt

8 ounces fresh salmon, cut into bite-sized pieces

6 ounces dates, pitted and sliced

Everything except the dough, almond milk, and fig-wine filling.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Chop the figs.  Put them in a small saucepan with the wine.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and then cover and simmer until they are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Allow to cool while you are making the rest of the recipe.

Then make the almond milk by mixing the ground almonds and threads of saffron with boiling water and allowing it to steep until cool.  Strain the resulting almond milk from the mix by pouring it all through several layers of cheesecloth, a fine sieve, or a cloth bag.  Set the almond milk aside for the end of the recipe.

Line a pie pan with the lower crust, leaving some extra dough at the edges to help seal the second crust.

Mix the spices, 1/4 cup pine nuts, currants, broken saffron, and salt in a bowl, then add the cooled figs and wine.  Mix well and put into the pie crust.

Sprinkle the surface with the rest of the pine nuts, add a layer of the chopped dates, and then the salmon pieces.

Cover with the second crust.  Cut some vent holes.  Brush the top of the crust with the almond milk.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Let cool a little before cutting and serving.

My Notes

I suspect the recipe was designed to use dried figs.  Most recipes seemed to call for them dried, and I can understand why -- the fresh fig season is short and drying figs makes them last through the year.

But I don't care.  I'm using fresh because I have them!  Dried figs simmered in wine will rehydrate and be easier to eat.  I think I would use 15 to 20 dried figs, chopped, and simmer them longer.

Figs and wine.  Could be the whole meal right there!

Before cooking

After cooking

Next, make the almond milk.  You need so little that it is easier to make it than to buy it, and you know you are getting something without additives.  I keep the leftover ground almonds and mix in a little cinnamon and honey for a small snack.

Almonds before pounding.  You just need a few!

Pounded.  Making the pieces smaller is fine.

With boiling water and saffron.  Ready to steep.

Strained milk.  The yellow is from the saffron.

While this is steeping, mix up the spices, pine nuts, and currants.  Add them to the cooling fig and wine mixture.

Spices, pine nuts, currants

The entire bottom layer of filling

The fig, wine, and spices filling needs to be cool enough not to melt the fat in the lower crust.  I put mine in the freezer to chill it faster.

Here is how I sliced the dates and chunked the salmon:

The quantity of the fig and spice filling seemed just right for the cast iron skillet I was using as a pie pan.  The other layers were spread evenly across the top.

Bottom layer

Pine nut layer

Date layer

Salmon layer

Top crust with glaze

After my tart had baked for 20 minutes at the 350 degree F temperature, I thought the edge of the crust was at risk of burning, so I put a foil cover on it.  Then it baked for another 20 minutes.

The Verdict

This is the tart right out of the oven.

The bit of salmon I could see through the vent slits looked cooked.  I wasn't worried that it didn't cook enough, but that it was overcooked and dry.  I let the tart cool until it was still warm but not putting my mouth at risk of being burnt.

My guest taster wanted me to write that the crust was excellent.  I mostly agreed - I thought it was a little too crumbly - but it was flaky and tender and flavorful.

You can see that the layers were distinct enough:  fig layer, then the nut-date-salmon layer above that.  

The salmon was cooked thoroughly but not dry (whew!).  The rest of the filling was moist and cooked.

The flavors were interesting in a very good way.  First, recognize it is a fruit tart with salmon, not a salmon tart with fruit.  My guest taster wished there was much more salmon in it.  I can understand that sentiment.  

What we got was the lovely mixture of fruits that was lightly spiced.  The fig seeds added crunch and the pine nuts added chewy.  Fruit was the dominant flavoring.  The salmon was a fascinating diversion from what could have been a dessert dish -- you would bite into the crust and fruit and suddenly taste the meaty flavor of the salmon.  It reminded you it was a main dish, and that surprise was pleasant.  It also helped that the fruit was not too sweet.  

I declare it a success.  I loved the fruit-and-meat combination, and the subtle spicing.  I loved that it was only lightly sweet and that I got that savory salmon as part of most bites.

If I were to grant my guest taster's wish to make it a salmon tart with fruit, I think I would put half of the fig mixture in the crust, then top it with a layer of salmon, using 12 to 16 ounces to pack the layer densely.  Then I would spread the rest of the fig layer on top and use fewer dates on top of that.  I believe the fig mixture would keep the salmon moist.  Maybe some day!

More on Tarte Goyere -- Upgrade!

I recently had the most incredible appetizer while having dinner with my daughter.  It was a bleu cheese creme brulee served with a thick fig jam on the side.  You scooped both onto a crostini drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar reduction.  Yes, the creme brulee even had that light crust of caramelized sugar on top.  Heavenly.  We could have made the entire dinner off of that (but glad we didn't; the entrees that followed were also dreamy!)

This sparked a discussion between us about the Tarte Goyere -- wouldn't it be great to add that fruit flavor to this medieval dish?

So we did!  We searched a farmer's market and a store and had no luck acquiring fig jam.  However we did decide that a rich cider apple butter would make an acceptable substitute.  

My daughter quickly made the tarte and put it into the oven for 15 minutes.  Then she thinly covered the top with a mix of 4 tablespoons of apple butter and 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.  We tasted the mix before it went on -- she adjusted it until you got that light bite of the vinegar but it did not come through strongly as vinegar.  Then she cooked it for 10 minutes more followed by just a few minutes under the broiler.

After dinner picture!

The Verdict:  My, oh my!  The taste was lovely.  We both agreed that it needed more of the apple butter flavor so we simply spooned more on our slices at the table.  I made sure some of the apple butter got on my crust, too.  This was definitely a culinary success.

Notes:  She used an egg beater to whip the eggs and only got them to the foamy stage.  (The original recipe said, "Whip the eggs" which means I took it to soft peaks.)  This did not affect the overall texture of the tarte but she believes the broiling is what made it right.  She commented that the tarte didn't get puffy until it was under the broiler.

She also used 6 ounces of bleu cheese for a stronger bleu flavor, thinking it would go better with the apple butter.  She was right!

She also feels that next time she would start with the thicker layer of apple butter because it would be easier to spread.  She would also make sure it got on the crust, which was folded over the edges of the tarte.  

A Tarte of Strawberries

It is strawberry season (hooray!) and I have a large quantity just asking to be made into something historical.  I found this site on the web:  Cariadoc's Miscellany; Desserts, Appetisers, Etc.

"Cariadoc" is the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) name of David Friedman, the man who assembled a collection of medieval and Renaissance recipes (receipts) from a variety of sources.  He lists the source with each receipt and includes his redaction.

I chose a Strawberry Tarte receipt along with the recommended receipt for the crust.

To Make Short Paest for Tarte

A Proper Newe Book p. 37/C10

Take fyne floure and a curscy of fayre water and a dysche of swete butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolkes of two egges and make it thynne and as tender as ye maye.

3/4 c flour
1 T + 1 t water
1/2 stick = 4 T butter
6 threads saffron
1 egg yolk












Cut butter into flour, then crush saffron into 1 t of water; mix that and the rest of the water with the egg yolk and stir it into the flour-butter mixture.

_________________________________________________________________________

***Normally I would cheat and buy a premade pie crust (I know, but it is soooo convenient!) but this one includes saffron and I really wanted see how it tasted.

I did all the mixing by hand, using a fork to cut in the butter and using my fingers to gently and lightly blend the dough.  Using good pastry-making techniques, I used cold water, cold butter, and only worked it until the butter and flour looked like corn meal and the complete mixture was barely blended.

I didn't take any pictures of this process until I started rolling out the dough.  You can see the flecks of saffron in it.

I still don't have an 8 inch pie pan so I used my 8 inch cake pan.

The amount of dough was pretty close to exactly what I needed, given that I rolled it very thin.

It only shrank a little once it had been cooked for its ten minutes (as mentioned below).

Now, on to the filling!

A Tarte of Strawberries

A Proper Newe Book p. 39/C11

Take and strain them with the yolks of four eggs, and a little white bread grated, then season it up with sugar and sweet butter and so bake it.

2 c strawberries
4 egg yolks
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/3 c sugar
4 T butter
8" pie shell (see recipe above)

Force strawberries through a strainer or run through a blender, then mix with everything else (the butter should be melted).

Just blended strawberries

 

Strawberries and everything else

Bake crust for 10 minutes, then put filling into the crust and bake at 375deg. for 20 minutes.  *Note:  I baked the crust and let it cool while I was making the filling.

Before baking

After baking

My observations:  20 minutes at 375 degrees is exactly the right amount of time to cook the filling.  It was perfectly set and well-flavored.

This is before I chilled it

Using a blender is a good thing, as it made the process quick and easy.  Since the receipt didn't say how to measure the strawberries (whole?  sliced?), I sliced them up right into the blender to its measure of 2 cups.


The result?  I loved the taste of the filling before it went into the oven.  It was a light and flavorful strawberry "mousse" of sorts.  Once the tarte was cool, I tried a piece.  Overall I liked it but there was something, some aftertaste, that I didn't like.  So I chilled the whole thing and tried it again later.  The flavor was still good but that aftertaste remained.  I think that off-flavor was the crust, which I didn't like much because the bottom was tough.

There was really only one thing to do:  Make another one!  This time I used the premade crust.  The only other difference between the first and second tartes was that in the second one, I poured the filling into the hot crust as soon as it had baked its ten minutes.  In the first, I poured the filling into the cooled crust.

Take two!

 The crust was cooked more than the first, probably because it didn't have a chance to cool down before the filling went in.  The "off" flavor was gone which I suspect was contributed by the saffron but am still not sure.  It was also gone from the first attempt after two days in the refrigerator.

The second crust was not tough.  It could be that the first crust got tough because it was allowed to cool before I filled it.

Having two pies in the house prompted me to take one to work to share.  I asked people for their honest (not "polite") feedback.  The responses were overwhelmingly "I like it" with an emphasis on how much the delicate strawberry flavor came through.  One person, who admits to being very particular about textures, wished the filling was stiffer, more like a custard.  But she still thought it was good overall. 

The Verdict:  I declare it a success!  I would try the saffron crust again but will either increase the quantity so it didn't have to be rolled quite so thin or use an actual 8 inch pie pan.  And I will follow the directions better so the crust doesn't cool before I put in the filling.  I think it deserves another chance, certainly.