Concord Grape Tart

I've been thinking about this tart for about a year. I first met the concords at a farmers market last Autumn. They looked pretty - like large blueberries, but they smelled of my childhood.....specifically a bubble gum I used to have a s a kid. So ate them. Then looked for them the next week at the market, but alas they had finished for the season. That day I vowed to exploit the grapes the next year.

All the grape tarts I looked at seem to begin the same way: pop the middle part of the grape out and save the skins.

Ingredients

Concord Filling

1 1/2 lbs. concord grapes
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. potato starch
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Oat Crumble

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cuptightly packed brown sugar

pinch of salt

not quite 1/2 cup of flour

1/4 cup unsalted better - melted

1 Tart base (mine was a pate sucree)

Method (preheat oven to 375F)

1. Wash the grape and gently squeeze the internal part of the grape into a bowl, keep the skins in a separate bowl.

2. In a small saucepan place the internal part of the grapes and boil for around 10 min.

3. Put them in a sieve over a bowl and using the back of a spoon squish the grapes until most of the pulp has been transferred to the bowl below.

4. empty the contents of the bowl into a medium saucepan, add the skins, sugar and melted butter. In a small bowl place the potato starch and lemon juice and stir until well combined (you may need to add a little extra water to make a paste). Add the paste to the grape mixture and stir to combine.

5. Heat over medium heat until slightly thicker.

6. Let cool a little

7. Meanwhile make the crumble. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the butter and using your finger tips mix until all the dry ingredients have been integrated.

8. In your tart base place some of the filling - fill it up around 3/4 full. Then sprinkle your crumble on top.

9. Bake for around 45 min, but check for the setting of the tart - the consistency should be like that of a thick jam.

10. Let cool to room temp and serve.

A very good tart - a little tart, very nice with the sweet crust of the sucree. Also a slightly sweetened whipped cream works very nicely!