This country style tart was inspired by seeing the display of freshly picked rhubarb and purple asparagus next to each other at the farmer’s stall of the Green City Market.
The combination of rhubarb and asparagus is enhanced by the refreshing and fragrant tastes of lemon, thyme and cardamom with a bit of honey to sweeten the tartness of the rhubarb.
The olive oil crust, gluten free, includes lemon zest to echoe the fresh balance of flavors of the filling.
Ingredients for the crust:
- 2 cups gluten free flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp hot water
- 2 pinch sea salt
- Zest of 1 organic lemon
For the filling:
- 250 g/9 oz fresh rhubarb
- 250 g/9 oz purple asparagus
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 1/2 Tbsp honey
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp gluten free flour
- 5 g/ 1/4 oz thyme
- 1 pinch salt
Preheat oven 375F
Start by washing the asparagus and cut the tips at an angle.
If some of the tips are larger than others, cut them in half, lengthwise. Reserve. 
Cut the remaining stalks of the asparagus in small pieces. 
Wash the rhubarb and cut thick slices similar in size to the asparagus. There is no need to peel the rhubarb. Be sure to discard the green leafy parts as it is toxic. 
Place rhubarb and asparagus in a bowl. 
Remove the thyme leaves from the stems. Discard the stems. Reserve the leaves. 
When making a gluten free crust, personally I like to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour. Here I’ll use it for the filling as well. 
Add the thyme leaves, honey, salt, ground cardamom, GF flour and olive oil to the bowl.
Zest the organic lemon with a micro plane and add to the mixture. 
Add the lemon juice and toss. Set aside for the flavors to infuse. 
Prepare a well with the gluten free flour and add salt and lemon zest. 
Then add the olive oil and hot water. 
Using one hand, slowly incorporate the flour and liquid mixture. 
The final crust will be crumbly. 
Form it into a flattened ball. 
Using s pastry rolling pin, start to roll out the dough, rolling back and forth to elongate the crust. 
Using a pastry scraper, lift the crust from the surface and turn it 1/4 turn. 
Continue to roll out the dough, turning it 1/4 turn as soon as it is elongated into an oval, until you have a round shape that is large enough to fit the tart dish Bottom and sides. 
Line the tart dish with the crust. The nature of the gluten free crust is to break into pieces. Simply patch it back together as it is very forgiving. 
Place the rhubarb-asparagus mixture on the crust. 
Arange the asparagus tips on top. And place in the oven, lowering the temperature to 350F. Bake for 45 minutes. 
When the tart is baked, drizzle a little olive oil and sprinkle some fleur de sel. Wait a few minutes before cutting. 
Enjoy!
Saveur Chic 