Go to any fancy cocktail bar and you might find the combination of strawberry and thyme together, perhaps in a thyme-steeped, house-made strawberry syrup. The trend to mix sweet and herbal flavors (like watermelon with basil) might seem novel and unexpected. But, the combination has been around for a lot longer than you might have thought. As early as the Middle Ages people were mixing fruit with thyme in tart form. This Medieval Strawberry Thyme Tart is the sort of dessert you might find back in the days of knights and knaves!

Back then fruit could be flavored with rosewater, wine, ginger, cinnamon, and in this case, thyme. The line between sweet and savory dishes was different in the Middle Ages and spices were considered luxurious additions to a variety of dishes.

In the Middle Ages the term “pies” often referred to savory pies in thick crusts. But, sweeter, lighter pies were sometimes called tarts. This tart is very much like a galette, with the soft pastry folded over the edges to keep the filling inside. This is then baked on a flat baking sheet instead of in a pie pan.

The flavor of strawberries, fresh and sweet, is perfectly balanced by the thyme in this tart. We’re not putting thyme in the entire dish, just in the dough of the crust. This results in a more subtle herbal flavor overall.

Sugar was available in medieval times, but it was hard to make and import. As such it was considered an extremely expensive “spice” to cook with. Cooks back then might have used honey in place of sugar when they could.

Their strawberries would likely have been sweeter, so not as much sweetener would have been needed. Not only were medieval strawberries grown only in season, but the wild and heirloom varieties of strawberries grown in England and across Europe at the time (and in England to this day) are much sweeter than what can be found in groceries in other parts of the world.

We’re using some lemon curd to add fruity depth and a bit of sweet-tart flavor to the tart. You can make it yourself or use your favorite brand from the grocery – either way works!

Add the strawberries on top of the lemon curd, fold the edges up, and then you’re ready to bake! I used clean kitchen shears to snip vertical slits in the dough before folding, using the slits as you would darts in a sewing project to remove excess around the curves. Alternately you can simply fold the excess dough from each pleat back into the pie.

And, there you have it! A dessert fit for a king.