I've always made the dough in a food processor, but you can it make it by hand as well. I've included some new directions in the recipe below. You will need a tart tin with a removable bottom to make the tart look like this, but they're not very expensive. Most tart doughs, like this one, use a lot of butter so they don't stick to the bottom and there's no need for a nonstick pan. In fact, a nonstick pan will probably just brown the crust too quickly. Just be careful when you take the tart off the pan; a long icing spatula is helpful if you have one.
Adapted from Christopher Kimball (from a recipe I found online that seems to have disappeared from the Internet)
Time: ~1:30
Filling
350 grams (~3 cups) fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over, or frozen
100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
juice from ½ of a regular lemon or 1 Meyer lemon
Dough
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
215 grams (~1¾ cups) all-purpose flour; or 120 grams (1 cup) spelt flour + 96 grams (1 cup) blanched almond flour
30 grams (¼ cup) yellow cornmeal
67 grams (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
140 grams (10 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter
1. For the filling: Place the filling ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the blueberries have released their juices, then reduce the heat to maintain a lively simmer (~ medium-low). Cook until the juices are thickened some and a little bit syrupy, about 15–20 minutes. The mixture will thicken some as it cools, so don't reduce the juices too much or you won't have enough filling. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes (while the dough is resting in the fridge).
2. For the crust: While the blueberries are cooking, gently beat the egg with the vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
3a. Using a food processor: Place the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse a few times to mix the ingredients. Cut the cold butter into ½-inch cubes, then scatter the cubes over the dry ingredients. Process until the butter is broken up into pieces no larger than a small pea, about 6 one-second pulses. Add the egg/vanilla mixture and process until the mixture looks like crumbled wet sand, about 8 to 10 one-second pulses. If the dough looks too dry, add water, just 1 teaspoon at a time, and pulse until it holds together when you press it between your fingers.
3b. Without a food processor: Whisk the the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Scatter the butter chunks over the dry ingredients and squeeze them between your fingertips to flatten them out (or work them in with a pastry blender if you have one). When the mixture is a little bit coarse and no large pieces of butter remain, add the egg/vanilla mixture and mix gently with a fork (or a pastry fork) until the mixture looks like crumbled wet sand. Add water, just 1 teaspoon at a time, if the dough looks too dry. The dough should hold together when you press it between your fingers.
4. Dump the dough into a 9½-inch tart tin with a removable bottom and press into an even layer over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes while the blueberries are cooling.
5. Near the end of the 20-minute resting time, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Scrape the cooled blueberry mixture into the chilled pastry shell. Try to spread the blueberry pieces out evenly to cover as much of the shell as possible. Place in the center of the oven and bake until the blueberries are bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 40–45 minutes. Move to a cooling rack. When ready to serve, remove the sides of the pan, then transfer the tart carefully to a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature as is, or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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