Pour un Pique-Nique Sur le Patio: Roasted Citrus Tart + Jacquart Brut Mosaique #Winophiles

For June's French Winophiles event, Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is hosting. She asked us to take a look at unexpected Champagne pleasures. You can read her invitation here.

Think red wine from the region of still wines instead of sparkling, she suggested. I was definitely excited to explore, but with the shelter-in-place orders, and ordering most of my wines online, I wasn't able to source anything particularly unexpected. Boo. I almost bowed out, but then Gwendolyn opened the theme up a little bit further to include biodynamic, organic, Brut Nature (low or no added dosage), a grower-maker wine, a wine made by one of the women of Champagne, or anything else that tickled our fancy. Okay...back in!

And if you are reading this early enough, feel free to join us on a live Twitter chat on Saturday, June 20th at 8am Pacific time. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Winophiles. And, if you want to chime in, be sure to add that same hashtag to your tweet so we can see it.

Here's what the bloggers are sharing. All of these posts will be live between Friday, June 19th and early Saturday morning, June 20th. Cheers!

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Pour un Pique-Nique Sur le Patio: Roasted Citrus Tart+ Jacquart Brut Mosaique
• Cindy of Grape Experiences: A Stroke of Serendipity – Discovering Champagne Louis Brochet Brut 1er Cru in London
• Jeff of Food Wine Click!: The Polar Opposite of House Style at Champagne Coessens
• Katrina of Corkscrew Concierge: Seven is a Charm with Laherte Freres Les 7 Champagne
• Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog: Champagne Drappier’s Blanc de Quatre Blancs; A Taste of Champagne’s White Heirloom Grape Varieties 
• Nicole of Somm's Table: A Super Fancy Pants Grilled Cheese Pairing: SalmonCaviar Croque-Monsieur with Charles Dufour Bulles de Comptoir 6 La Benjamine2.0 Champagne
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles: Champagne & BBQ, Chartogne-Taillet meets Rollin’Smoke
• Sue and Gwendolyn of Wine Predator: 10 of Champagne’s Unexpected Pleasures: 24 hours In and Around Reims, France for #Winophiles
• Susannah of Avvinare: Falling In Love with Champagne: My First Visit to a Wine Region
• Terri of Our Good Life: Champagne and Sticky Asian Chicken Thighs: Whoa!

In the Glass

You can go back to my HOW TO - Read a Champagne Label post, for a refresher. I had to! This bottle bore the designation 'CM.' CM Stands for Coopérative-Manipulant. Growers are affiliated with the cooperative that buys the growers' grapes and, then, the cooperative produces Champagne which can be sold as individual brands. Also, the website from which I ordered this bottle has it labeled as a 'green wine,' but nothing in my research explained that what meant.

Let’s take a look at what I did discover about Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque...

Mosaique is French for mosaic, referring to a picture or pattern comprised of tiny pieces or tiles. In this context, it represents the 1,800 growers and 2,200 hectares of vineyards that are part of the wine cooperative.

As this is a non-vintage, I'm not sure of the exact blend. For one year I found percentages listed as 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and 25% Meunier and includes 25 to 35% of reserve wines; for another year, the percentages were 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir, and 20% Meunier. But I suppose it's safe to say that Champagne Jacquart Brut Mosaïque is a blend of three varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier.

The Champagne poured a clear yellow straw color with flecks of gold and highlights of green with miniscule bubbles for a persistent perlage that continued to sparkle as I sipped. On the nose there were bright layers of flowers and citrus that were softened with a yeasty brioche and the warmth of vanilla. And on the palate the Champagne was fresh and supple with a mineral-tinged finish. It was the perfect pour for sipping and lounging in the sun at a park on my patio. Why the strike through? you ask. Read on...

On the Plate

Initially I had planned to pack a picnic and take my dessert and bubbly to a park. But, when we headed out, I drove by three parks and was dismayed at the lack of mask and dearth of social distancing going on. Nope. Not happening. So, I drove home and had the picnic on my patio instead.

The blend of citrus and vanilla aromas in the wine made me think of my favorite extract, Fiori di Sicilia, and I added that to my crust. Also, in terms of process, I did the roasted oranges first because they take the longest and need to cool completely before use.

Ingredients make one 9" tart

Crust

• 1 ½ cups flour
• 5 Tablespoons organic granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt (I used Maldon flake salt)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons water
• ½ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (you can use pure vanilla extract if you don't have this ingredient)

Roasted Oranges

• 2 organic oranges, sliced (I used cara cara)
• 2 to 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Filling

• 1 cup organic granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons  flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt (I used Maldon flake salt)
• 3 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon grated orange zest plus ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ½ teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (you can use pure vanilla extract if you don't have this ingredient)

Procedure

Roasted Oranges

Heat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Arrange orange slices in roasting pan, and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Pour orange juice over oranges and cover pan with aluminum foil. Roast until the rinds are soft and plump, approximately 90 minutes. Remove the foil and sprinkle with remaining 2 Tablespoons sugar. Raise oven temperature to 400° Fahrenheit and return the pan to the oven, uncovered. Roast until the oranges are very soft and browned around the edges, approximately 30 more minutes. Remove the slices to a wire rack. Drizzle with the sauce from the roasting pan. And let cool completely before using.

Crust

Heat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, and salt together. Pour in the oil and water and stir until uniform dough forms. Add in the extract, then, using your hands, crumble the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with removable base.

Press dough into an even crust along the sides and about 1-inch up the sides. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is deep golden brown and firm to touch, approximately 30 to 35 minutes. When the crust has been baking for about 15 minutes, start the filling.

Filling

In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, and salt until combined. Whisk in eggs and yolks until the mixture is completely uniform in color. Then stir in orange zest and juice. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly and scraping corners of saucepan, until mixture thickens slightly, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the extract and continue to cook until the curd hold whisk marks. Remove the pan from heat and wait until your crust is done.

Assembly

Once the crust is done, carefully remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon the filling evenly into the crust. Return the tart to the oven and bake until the curd barely jiggles in the pan, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the tart to a wire rack and arrange the roasted orange slices on top. Let cool completely, but at least two hours!

For serving, remove the outer metal ring of tart pan. Slide a thin metal spatula between tart and pan bottom, then carefully slide tart onto serving platter or cutting board.

Slice tart into wedges and serve.

And that's a wrap for our Champagne event. The French Winophiles will be back in July with a focus on the White Wines of Roussillon with Lynn of Savor the Harvest leading the discussion. Cheers!