Cherry Crostata

Kozmic Blues's Note:

I made this lovely, rustic, tart-like dessert with fresh cherries from a local farm here in RI. The nice thick, lemony crust coupled with the natural sweetness of the cherries was delicious. This recipe came from the magazine La Cucina Italiana. Prep time includes the dough's resting time.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 50 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 ½ cups flour , plus extra for dusting
• 1 cup butter , chilled and cut into small cubes
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 3 egg yolks , beaten
• ¼ cup cherry jam (can also use strawberry jam as well)
• 1 lb ripe sweet cherries , washed, pitted and cut in half
• powdered sugar , for dusting (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare crostata dough: Sift 2 1/2 cups flour.
2. Place flour, butter (minus 1 tablespoon), sugar, salt, and lemon zest in food processor.
3. Pulse until mixture is moistened and crumbly.
4. Add egg yolks and pulse until mixture just begins to form a ball of dough. (Crust can be mixed by hand if you do not have a food processor).
5. Remove dough and flatten into a disk.
6. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Unwrap dough and place it on a floured work surface.
9. I have a little better luck rolling out the dough if I let it come back to room temperature a bit.
10. Roll out crust into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
11. Transfer circle to a parchment lined baking sheet.
12. Using a fork, prick holes in the crust about 5 or 6 times.
13. In saucepan over low heat, warm cherry (or strawberry) jam with remaining 1 tbsp butter.
14. Spread warm jam in a thin layer over the crust, leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches around the edges for a border.
15. Spread fresh cherries over the jam.
16. Fold the outer edges of the dough over the fruit, leaving about a 6-8 inch circle of the cherries showing in the middle.
17. I turned the halved cherries that were visible in the middle skin side up to make the crostata look a bit more uniform.
18. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
19. Let cool.
20. Dust with powdered sugar if desired, and serve.

Reviews

[Chef #493093]

Cherries were out of seaon so I tred this using a mixture of frozen & canned cherries. Even drained and with juice pressed out it was a soggy mess. ONLY USE FRESH CHERRIES!!

[Sue Lau]

This was really yummy!!! I loved the flavor of lemon in the dough and may use that idea in other pie crusts I make, such as lemon meringue pie. I did have to add a little more butter to the dough to get it to come together in a ball. I used frozen cherries, which to me was not a problem- I just thickened them with a little cornstarch mixed with water since they had more juice than fresh cherries would.