tarte aux fraises

a recipe to celebrate strawberry season

May 21, 2024

∙ Paid

Welcome to mama eats, a twice-weekly newsletter inspired by a simple + seasonal home life. This week’s post, a recipe for strawberry tart, is free to all readers, barring the video of me making it which is viewable by paid subscribers. I try to provide as much free content as possible, however, this newsletter is a labor of love and I am a busy mother of three. If you have the means and find value in what I share, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, which also gives you the benefit of access to the growing archive (posts over a month old).

The arrival of strawberry season begins for us in late April or early May. We grow a handful of plants at home, and buy many more flats throughout the season from the farmer’s market and fruit stands- but going out to the field ourselves for a u-pick is what signals spring to me. Starting in early April, I check every few days with the farm to see if the strawberries are ready. It is one of our most cherished springtime rituals. That first berry picked goes straight into the mouth, warm from the sun- a gustatory delight, savagely red all the way through, juice dripping down the chin, the burst of fragrant sweetness. On a warm day, you can smell them in the fields from the road. It reminds me of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s ode to strawberries in Braiding Sweetgrass. She talks about the fact that “You could smell ripe strawberries before you saw them, the fragrance mingling with the smell of the damp ground”.

Strawberries are the first fruit of spring here, and they bring so much anticipation and pleasure after a winter of storage apples and (albeit delicious) citrus. The ease by which they can be plucked and eaten without any embellishment only contributes to their appeal, and begins the long seasonal carousel of fruit anew… strawberries, then blueberries and cherries, raspberries, apricots, blackberries, nectarines and peaches, melons, grapes, and then back to apples and pears, quince, and finally, citrus.

Left: strawberry u-pick; Right: *Still Life with Strawberries*, Adriaen Coorte, 1705

In celebration of the return of warmth and juicy fruit, I always make a tarte aux fraises with the most perfect, small strawberries picked. It is a very simple tart, a open crust with vanilla scented pastry cream inside, topped with raw whole or sliced strawberries, glazed with a bit of jelly for gloss and sweetness. It is wonderful served as a little something sweet after a spring dinner party.

For this imaginary dinner party, I’d begin with a plate fresh juicy radishes (roots trimmed and a few leaves left on for a handle) + softened butter and coarse salt to start, plus a well chilled white wine. A main course of pappardelle with arugula pesto (make pesto ahead for ease) and simply sauteed asparagus and peas. Next, a fresh crunchy salad of little gem lettuces with strips of carrot (use a vegetable peeler), dill and parsley leaves, and a shallot vinaigrette. Follow with this beautiful tart for a sweet ending to the meal.