Lemon Crostata Food

TOMATO & GOAT CHEESE CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse to combine. Add the diced butter and toss carefully with your fingers to coat each piece of butter with flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, until the butter is the size of peas. While pulsing, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Pulse to combine, stopping just before the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Heat the 4 tablespoons butter in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add the leeks, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and sauté for 8 minutes, until the leeks are tender and starting to brown. Set aside. Place the tomatoes on a plate, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Set aside.
• On a floured board, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, then place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn a sheet pan upside down and transfer the paper to the inverted pan. Spread the leeks on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top. Arrange the tomatoes over the goat cheese, overlapping the slices because they will shrink. Turn the edges of the pastry up and over the tomatoes, crimping so they lie flat. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is nicely browned. Allow to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, sprinkle lightly with the fresh herbs and salt, cut in wedges and serve warm.

LEMON CROSTATA

Steps:

• Pulse almonds with 1/4 cup flour in a food processor until finely ground, being careful not to grind to a paste.
• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Chill 1 tablespoon beaten egg for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. At low speed, mix in almond mixture, zest, salt, and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour until a dough just forms. Halve dough and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Beat yolks with 3/4 cup sugar using cleaned beaters until very thick and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a heavy medium saucepan and stir in zest, juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and mixture begins to bubble, about 6 minutes. Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with parchment paper, until cold, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Generously butter springform pan.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep other piece chilled) between 2 sheets of parchment into a 12-inch round (dough will be very tender). Remove top sheet of parchment and invert dough into springform pan. (Dough will tear easily; patch it with your fingers.) Press dough over bottom and 1 inch up side of pan, trimming excess.
• Chill shell and roll out remaining dough between sheets of parchment into a 12-inch round. Remove top sheet of parchment, then cut dough into 10 (1/3-inch-wide) strips with pastry wheel and slide, still on parchment, onto a baking sheet. Chill until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Bake shell until bottom is pale golden and edge is golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool shell in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes.
• Spread filling in shell and arrange 5 strips 1 inch apart on filling. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart diagonally across first strips to form a lattice with diamond-shaped spaces. Trim edges of all strips flush with edge of shell. Brush lattice top with egg wash and sprinkle crostata with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake crostata until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours (juices will thicken).

SUMMER BERRY CROSTATA WITH LEMON CURD

Steps:

• Place oven rack in lowest position, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place large pizza stone on rack, and heat 1 hour while preparing other ingredients. Cut 6 sheets of aluminum foil, each one 8 inches square, and set aside.
• Make the crust: Combine flours, sugar and salt in food processor, and pulse to combine. Remove lid, scatter butter over surface of flour and pulse until butter pieces are no longer visible, 10 pulses of 10 seconds or so each. Turn mixture into mixing bowl, and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons ice water. Toss lightly with fingertips. Gather dough together, and squeeze a small portion with fingers. If dough feels dry, add another tablespoon water, and toss to combine. Turn dough onto work surface, press together firmly and pat into round disk. Cut into 6 wedges. Roll each wedge into a ball, flatten slightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, and up to 24 hours.
• Make the curd: Place small, conical stainless-steel strainer over 2-cup glass measuring cup, and set aside. In small, heavy nonreactive saucepan, whisk egg, yolks and sugar together. Add lemon juice, and whisk to combine. Add zest, butter and salt. Place pan over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until mixture is shiny, opaque and thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not boil. Remove from heat, and stir in cream. Strain immediately into glass measuring cup, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Make the blueberry filling: Place half the blueberries in medium saucepan. Add cornstarch and sugar, and stir well. Add lemon juice and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until blueberries give up juices, thicken and simmer a bit. Compote will be very thick. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining blueberries. Cool.
• Assemble the crostata: Working 1 piece of dough at a time, flour top and bottom lightly, and roll into thin 8-inch round. Transfer round to a square of foil. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of desired filling in center, leaving 2-inch periphery free. Mound fruit in a circle. (Be sure to use all the filling in the 6 crostatas.) Fold dough over to support filling. Place crostata on sheet pan in refrigerator, and continue forming tarts with remaining dough pieces and fruit filling. Refrigerate all 6 crostatas at least 20 minutes.
• Slide 2 or 3 crostatas onto baking stone. Bake until dough is dark golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove, and cool 10 minutes on rack. Repeat with remaining crostatas. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, or add a dollop of whipped cream or a few tablespoons of chilled heavy cream. Serve.

LEMON CROSTATA WITH FRESH FIGS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Make the dough: Blend the flour, sugar, and lemon zest at low speed in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the butter and continue blending at low speed until the mixture is coarse and sandy-looking. Add the beaten egg and blend just until the mixture comes together. Form into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a rough circle, about 8 inches in diameter. The dough may seem crumbly but you can just push it back together and make patches if necessary. Transfer to the prepared pan. All around the circle, fold in the outer 1/2-inch of the pastry to form a naturally raised, "rustic" edge to the tart. Don't press the edge down.
• Using your fingers, break the goat cheese into small pieces, sprinkling it over the bottom of the tart (not the edges). Arrange the fig halves in concentric circles over the goat cheese and drizzle the figs with honey. Bake about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the underside of the tart crust is browned.

PLUM CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the dough: In a standing mixer with a paddle blend together flour, sugar and lemon zest. Add butter and continue mixing on low until sandy looking. Meanwhile whisk together egg and yolk. Add to flour/butter mixture and blend on low just until it comes together. Form into a ball and chill.
• Roll dough out to a 14-inch circle and place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Fold over 1/2 inch of the crust to form a rustic edge. Spread jam on center of tart then fan around wedges of plums and dot with raspberries. Drizzle honey over plums, brush edge with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake at 375 until fruit is tender and crust is cooked on the under side, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Note: You may use frozen raspberries if fresh is not available. Also if you can't find coarse sugar, use raw sugar.