Rick Stein - Prune and Almond Tart with Armagnac
From Rick Stein’s French Odyssey episode 3. Click on “more” to read the whole recipe.
Prune and almond tart with Armagnac
Serves 8
Rick Stein says: “I wrote this recipe using the extraordinarily good mi-cuit, that is ‘half-dried’ Agen prunes they sell near the town of that name, and which are now becoming more available over here. However, traditional dried Agen prunes will work just as well.”
Ingredients
300g/10½oz dried or mi-cuit Agen prunes
4 tbsp Armagnac
1 quantity rich shortcrust pastry, and butter for greasing
35g/1oz ground almonds
1 large egg, lightly beaten
55g/2oz sugar
1 7¼fl oz/200ml tub crème fraîche
To serve
icing sugar, for dusting
extra crème fraîche
Method
1. Put the prunes into a small bowl, pour over the Armagnac and leave for one hour, turning them over every now and then to help them soak up the alcohol.
2. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a greased loose-bottomed flan tin that is 2.5cm/1in deep and 25 cm/9in across the base. Prick the base here and there with a fork and chill for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Line the pastry case with a crumpled sheet of greaseproof paper and a thin layer of baking beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for 4-5 minutes.
4. Remove, brush the inside of the case with a little of the beaten egg and return to the oven once more for two minutes. Set aside and lower the oven temperature to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
5. Drain the prunes over a bowl to reserve the Armagnac. Add the ground almonds, egg, sugar and crème fraîche to the Armagnac, and beat together until smooth.
6. Scatter the prunes over the base of the pastry case, pour over the almond mixture and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre of the tart comes away clean.
7. Carefully remove the tart from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.
8. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges, with some more crème fraîche.