Favorite Things: A Rectangular Tart Pan

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You know I am a fan of removable-bottom tart pans of every shape and size. When I bought the rectangular pan years ago, I envisioned a whole array of adorable, beautiful oblong tarts served up to my friends and family. I thought of roasted tomato tarts, berry tarts, even cold veggie tarts cut in narrow wedges as appetizers. If Pinterest had been around, I would have been in rectangular tart-pan Big Ideas heaven.

Yet, like one is wont to do on Pinterest, where one can get so lost in a sea of eye candy and ideas that one never actually…acts…I clearly got lost in tart dreams never brought to fruition. This tart pan, the shape that I love, has been home to just one extraordinary tart recipe, made enough times over and over again to give the pan bottom its homey, homely patina.

This tart, my favorite of all favorite plum tarts, has to be in the rectangle shape. It just does. You can feel free, as I know you do, to use a round tart pan, or a square. You can refuse to make the tart at all, shaking your head as you mutter “special equipment” (but that would be a mistake…it’s so very good).

Me, I’m sticking to making my Italian plum tarts in the rectangle. I like the way the plums fit perfectly, two by two, all the way down the pan. I like how the slices contain the perfect equilibrium of plum halves, filling, and crust. You’ll see, it’s an OCDers dream.

If you have no tart pan and don’t ban recipes that ask (not require, but ask ever so sweetly) for special equipment in the kitchen,  you can add one to your stash for less than $20 here, or here, or here.

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7 Comments

  1. Do you have some desert recipes that I can use in my oblong tart pan. I only have one pear recipe and the mixture usually cooks over the edge of the pan. I would like some other recipes maybe like bars or such. I am not sure how much the pan holds as it seems small for most regular recipes. Would it be equal to an eight or nine inch pan or a regular pie pan?
    Thanks,
    Ardella

  2. Maureen – I also love tart pans – I have different sizes and shapes – they are sooo elegant. Now that the weather is cooling down, I’ll need to buy some fruit and make some tarts. Thanks for the reminder 🙂

  3. Maureenie,
    I am a fan of YOU!! Keep all of the lovely, sweet and heart filled words coming. They bring us all home. xoxoxox Patreez

  4. Dera Maureen
    God bless you.

    Thank you for maintaining the integrity of your blog.
    In searching I couldn’t find your recipe for hushwee but it seems I’ve seen it before. Nevertheless, I wanted to see if you or your mother added very small bits of gizzard and/or liver to the meat, as my mother did. Her hushwee was incredible to say the least.

    +Father Raphael

    1. Hello and thank you so much–sorry about the search problem! Here is the hushwe:. We have not made the hushwe with liver or gizzard, but that sounds delicious. I will try it!

      1. As you know both chicken gizzards and livers have lots of flavor but her use of one or both, I can’t remember which, were indistinguishable from the pieces of lamb or beef because they were so very small. In my opinion they acted like a flavoring rather than an ingredient. Also, unlike almost every Lebanese cooks in town, I do not remember her using chicken in the hushwe. Nevertheless, thank you for responding and a tasteful (no pun intended) blog.

        I might add another treat my mother made. Growing up I preferred Kibbee bi Saniyi over Kibbee Neeyee. However, when mom would slowly cook down pieces of from the lamb (leg I think), I suppose it was a form of Demee, she placed a small bowl of it hot in the middle of the table so we could scoop a balkowm of kibbee neeyee and press into the hot Demee. The result? Wow! From then on I ate Kibbee Neeyee.