Summer Fruit Tart

Why eat with the seasons?

• The price: for one thing, it’s more cost effective; there is an abundance of the crop when its in season and so there’s no need to import produce that has been artificially grown or travelled long distances.
• The environment: seasonally grown produce generally travels shorter distances and contains fewer chemicals, making it more environmentally friendly.
• The taste: fruit and vegetables are invariably more delicious in season because they are allowed to naturally and fully ripen, and so will have much more flavour. If you have strawberries in winter, don’t expect them to taste anything like the ones you’ve had in season.
• The health factor: It is healthier for us to eat fruit in season because they contain more naturally produced nutrients.

Here are some of the best fruits to buy in the summer:

• berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and cherries
• peaches
• plums
• apples
• pears
• currants: black, white and red

My absolute favourite of all the seasons is when all the English berries are in fruit, and the crowning glory of this time is the currants. Perfectly tart and fresh, they compliment so many cakes and pastries it makes life easy and they look spectacular in full threads on top of a cake or tart. Above all, I wait impatiently all year for my fruit supplier to tell me the the far-too-short season of whitecurrants is finally here.

I made this tart for a friend’s birthday which falls just at the start of the season to celebrate their long awaited return.