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Food

Corn and Husk Cherry Tartlets Recipe

A slightly savory-meets-sweet tartlet that brings out the complex flavor of the husk cherry.
Corn and Husk Cherry Tartlets Recipe

Servings: 12
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Ingredients

for the tart crust:
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
18 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed, plus 1-2 additional tablespoons for greasing the tart pan
1 large egg yolk

for the filling:
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons cornstarch
⅔ cup + ⅓ cup fresh corn kernels
⅓ cup|80 ml heavy cream
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
⅔ cup husk cherries, husked and halved
flaky salt, to finish

Directions

  1. First, make the tart shells. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like a coarse meal with a few larger chunks of butter still present.
  2. Transfer to a bowl and mix with ⅓ to 1 cup cold water with a wooden spoon, starting with ⅓ cup and adding more until the dough holds roughly together when squeezed. There will be some loose floury bits—that's okay. You want to add just enough water to combine the ingredients.
  3. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Transfer to the fridge and chill for a minimum of one hour, but up to several days. If you plan on keeping it for longer than that, freeze and allow additional time for defrosting before cooking.
  4. When you're ready to roll out the dough, heat the oven to 350°F and take the dough out of the fridge to temper for a few minutes. Lightly grease a muffin pan or 12 small tart molds.
  5. Place a third of the dough on a large piece of parchment and sprinkle lightly with flour. Hit the dough a few times with a rolling pin (also dusted with flour) to break it down a bit, and then start rolling. Put some elbow grease into it. Flip the dough over and sprinkle lightly again when necessary. You want the dough to be about ¼-inch thick, or thinner if possible, and even throughout.
  6. Cut with a 3-inch round cookie cutter, and repeat with remaining dough. You may have extra dough—just wrap it back up and freeze for another project.
  7. Place the dough in the muffin pan and push it down gently around the bottom edge, trying to squeeze out any air bubbles. Prick several times with a fork.
  8. Cover the dough with pie weights (a tinfoil pouch filled with dried rice or beans works perfectly) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until mostly golden.
  9. Let cool and remove weights. You will bake the tart crust a second time once it's filled.
  10. Heat the oven to 325°F. Combine egg yolks and cornstarch in a medium size bowl and set aside.
  11. In a blender, blend ⅔ cup of the corn kernels with ⅓ cup|80 ml of cream on high until corn is broken down, about 1 minute. The mixture does not have to be totally smooth.
  12. In a medium saucepan over medium, heat the cream mixture, honey, and salt until simmering. Slowly pour the egg and cornstarch into the cream mixture and whisk continuously as your pour to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk until smooth.
  13. Stir in the remaining ⅓ cup of fresh corn and remove the mixture from heat.
  14. Place the prepared tart crusts (recipe below) on a sheet tray and fill with custard until each crust is nearly full. Top each tart with a few husk cherry halves.
  15. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until custard is set and golden around the edges. Top with flaky salt to finish and serve.

From Dirty Work: Marinated Japanese Eggplants with Homemade Ricotta from Bobby Hellen of GG's

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