RUSTIC RHUBARB TART

Serves 4, makes one (7-inch) tarte Prep: 30 minutes plus 2-hour wait Bake: 35 minutes

1 pound (about 4 stalks)

fresh rhubarb

1/2 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup

sugar

Finely grated zest of 1

lemon

Pie pastry (recipe

follows)

1 tablespoon butter,

grated or diced

1. Macerate: Trim rhubarb, slice in half the long way and cut crosswise, on the diagonal, into 1/2-inch thick lozenges. Measure 31/2 cups. Toss rhubarb in a bowl with 1/2 cup sugar, and let rest, stirring occasionally, 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 covered and chilled.

2. Toss: Drain rhubarb; discard liquid. Toss rhubarb with zest. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Fill: Roll out pastry 1/8-inch thin, and trim to a 12-inch circle. Set pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Heap rhubarb onto pastry, leaving a bare border of about 2 1/2 inches. Sprinkle the remaining

1/4 cup sugar evenly over rhubarb. Scatter on butter. Fold border up and over the rhubarb, shaping a rustic tart with a casually pleated edge.

4. Bake: Slide pan into oven, and bake until pastry has browned and juices thickened, 35 to 38 minutes. Cool on a rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Pie pastry: Measure into the food processor 1 cup flour, 7 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut up) and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pulse until largest lumps are the size of peas.

Sprinkle on 4 tablespoons ice-cold water. Pulse, adding more water if needed, to damp clumps. Pat pastry into a disk. Wrap in waxed paper, and chill, at least one hour.

E. JASON WAMBSGANS / CHICAGO TRIBUNE / TNS The tart filling is a simple combination of rhubarb, sugar and lemon, topped with dots of butter. The rustic dessert is equally easy, requiring no fussy crimping or fitting into a pan.