Rhubarb Pie / Tarten Planc
When writing articles and recipes I am inspired by people and places in Pembrokeshire. A while ago I attended an event which brought together teachers, college staff, farmers and food producers - all wanted to ensure children and young people know about their food and where it comes from.
Examples of schools visiting farms, and farmers going in to talk to pupils were good to hear – especially after one local teacher told us a pupil in her class thought tomatoes grew underground and another thought milk was made in factories. These stories surprised me, I naively assumed that children growing up rurally would have a better grasp of how food gets to their plates.
In our conversations it became clear that whilst there is some great work taking place to inform and educate about food production, barriers remain – such as funding or health and safety. More worryingly, some farmers and food producers expressed frustration and sorrow at the misunderstanding and hostility they can encounter when off their farms. Talking with them it became clear that it is not only children and young people who know little about these industries that we all rely on.
A farmer friend of mine recites an old adage, ‘All being well you’ll need a doctor and a solicitor a handful of times in your life, but you’ll need a farmer three times a day’. We could all learn more about where our food comes from and value the people who provide it to us. Encouraging more young people into the food and farming industries would be great too, across Wales they employ 1.5 million people, offering varied and interesting careers. I started working in catering over 20 years ago and I still love it.
This traditional Welsh recipe has various names; Tarten Planc (Griddle Tarts) or Teisennau ar y Maen (Bakestone Turnovers) or, as with the large version in this recipe, known as a Harvest Cake. They would have been made on a planc or bakestone traditionally, but a frying pan works fine. Use whatever fruit you have available, rhubarb or cooking apples work well, you could add berries too.
Harvest Cake
Ingredients
1 large stalk of rhubarb / 1 large cooking apple
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
150g plain flour (I used 100g white + 50g wholemeal rye flour)
80g butter
3 tablespoons cold water
Method
First prepare the fruit (or use leftover cooked fruit). Wash the fruit, peel if necessary then cut into even chunks. Place into a pan and sprinkle over the tablespoon sugar and butter, cover with a lid and gently simmer until soft. Alternatively bake in a low oven until the fruit is soft (as in the photos here). Leave to cool, taste and add more sugar if necessary to your taste.
To make the pastry, put the flour into a large mixing bowl, dice the butter and mix into the flour. Rub the butter with the flour between your thumb and fingers, until it resembles sand and there are no more large lumps of butter. Pour in the water, mix and press together into a ball. Wrap the ball of pastry and place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to rest (pastry will last about a week in the fridge, if you want to prepare it in advance).
When ready to make, split the pastry into two large and two smaller pieces. Roll them out into round shapes, to about the thickness of a £1 coin. The rounds should be equal sized pairs as one piece will be the base, the other the lid. If you like to be really neat, you can cut them into perfect rounds, using a saucer/pastry cutter.
Prepare the small pie (Tarten Planc) first – this will be your tester! Place a spoonful of fruit mix onto the bottom pastry round, spread it out leaving a 1cm edge. Dab a little water around the edge, then place the second piece of pastry on top and seal together around the edge, gently squeeze out any air trapped inside before you finish sealing.
Warm a frying pan over a low heat and place your Tarten Planc in the centre. Cooking low and slow is the trick with these pies (as with Welsh cakes). You’ll notice the appearance change a little, it will puff up slightly and appear a little greasy as the butter in the pastry melts. Turnover when you think it’s ready, when it’s golden on both sides and the edges have changed colour too it is cooked. Allow it to cool a little (the filling will be very hot), then eat while still warm with cream, ice cream or cheese (the cheese may be a Yorkshire eccentricity!)
Repeat this process with the larger pastry rounds to make a Harvest Cake.
You can use any pastry scraps and leftover filling to make Teisennau ar y Maen – roll pastry into a circle, add filling to half the pastry circle then fold the other half over the top and seal the edges (as if making a pasty). Cook as above.