Brussels sprouts have given way to hefty red stalks of rhubarb in the stores. I made a lattice tart with them, bulked up with white nectarines (it could easily have been peaches instead, but these were on sale) and brightened with orange juice, strawberry jam and a pinch of ground cardamom.

My first taste of the finished tart brought to mind my mother–whom I haven’t seen in a year and a half–suddenly and painfully. Not because she’s much of a baker (I don’t think I’ve ever seen her bake a cake), but because she’s such an acidity junkie–vinegar on everything–that I know she would go crazy over this tart. In fact, I know exactly how she’d go about eating it. She’d take one small sliver right after dinner, and, when everyone had gone to bed, she’d turn on a CSI or Monk rerun and go scavenging in the fridge for more. She’d make a cup of tea, look quite guilty about the whole thing, and then go back for a third slice.

It makes me sad that, not having seen her since finishing cooking school, I haven’t yet been able to cook her anything fancy. Or even anything trashy.

The rhubarb I bought today was fresh and plump, not a chlorotic tip to be found, and so my tart came out beautifully ruddy. The recipe is barely modified from this one by Epicurious: I wanted a stone fruit in there for resistance (since rhubarb can become a pulpy mess), I got rid of some of the sugar because it just didn’t need it, and I’m still on a Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust kick.

Rhubarb, White Nectarine and Cardamom Tart–Makes one 9-inch tart

INGREDIENTS

1 roll pre-made pie crust, or sweet pie-dough recipe

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 nectarines (or peaches), peeled, seeded and cut in 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup strawberry preserves

METHOD

Combine rhubarb, nectarines, sugar, orange juice and cardamom in large deep skillet. Stir over medium-high heat until liquid starts to bubble. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until rhubarb is almost tender, stirring very gently occasionally to keep rhubarb intact, about 8 minutes.

Drain rhubarb and nectarines well, reserving syrup. Add syrup from bowl to skillet. Boil until juices in skillet are thick and reduced to 2/3 cup. Mix in preserves. Cool. Very gently fold in rhubarb and nectarines.

Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out dough to cover 9-inch, fluted tart pan. Roll out another piece of dough to an 11-inch round; cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into pie dish. Arrange dough strips into a lattice formation on top of the filling.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until filling is bubbling thickly and crust is golden brown.

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