Blueberry Nectarine Tart

Thanks to all who emailed to say thanks for the Signal Hill photographs. It seems in showing some international readers our little corner of the world, I set off a wave of homesickness for those transplanted Newfoundlanders who also regularly read this blog from far off places. ;)

The remainder of the blueberries form our short berry picking session on Signal Hill made their way into this very simple tart which was enjoyed by myself and the neighbours. This one is also particularly good served with some good vanilla ice cream.

Sour Cream Pastry
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup very cold butter cut in small pieces
¾ cup sour cream
½ tsp salt

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible. Pour sour cream over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll one of the dough rounds into a circle about 2 inches larger than the diameter of an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. You can freeze the other dough round for another time. Place the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan being very careful not to stretch the dough and leaving a little extra over the edge of the pan to allow for shrinkage as the crust bakes. Blind bake the crust for about 15 minutes before adding the filling. Blind baking is essential so that the bottom crust will not get soggy.

To blind bake a crust, simply place a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil over the dough and cover the bottom of the pie plate with baking weights. (Marbles, dry beans, peas, rice or barley work just as well as anything else.) Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 -15 minutes. Remove baking weights and parchment (or foil).Bake for an additional. Remove from oven and trim any excess crust from the pan with a sharp knife run around the top edge.

For the filling cut in slices:
3 small nectarines

Arrange the nectarine slices in a single layer on the blind baked crust. Do not overlap them and leave about a ½ inch between the slices.

Mix together

1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch

Add this mixture to

2 cups fresh blueberries (if using frozen, they MUST be thawed and at room temperature before using them in this recipe)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
¼ tsp cinnamon

Toss together gently until well combined and spread evenly over the nectarine slices. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet to catch any potential spills as the tart bakes.Bake at 375 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes or until the center of the tart is bubbling. Cool for a half hour before serving with good vanilla Ice cream.