Raspberry Fig Crostata Food

FRESH FIG AND ALMOND CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make dough: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if necessary, gradually add up to 2 tablespoons more water). Do not overmix. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days).
• Make filling: In food processor, combine almonds and sugar; process until finely ground. Add 1 egg, butter, flour, vanilla, and salt; pulse until smooth, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine figs and lemon juice; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a large lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll dough to a 14-inch round. Spread almond filling in center, leaving a 2-inch border; top with fig mixture. Fold border over edge of filling, pleating all around; press down gently to seal. In a small bowl, mix remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water; brush dough with egg wash.
• Lifting edges of parchment, transfer crostata to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let cool on baking sheet at least 30 minutes. To serve, cut crostata into wedges.

FIG CROSTATA

Steps:

• Blend together flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Add yolks, vanilla, and water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together (using a pastry scraper if you have one), then divide dough in half and form each half into a 5- to 6-inch disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Simmer figs, water, orange juice, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, until figs are soft and mixture is reduced to about 2 cups, 15 to 20 minutes. Pulse in a food processor until finely chopped (mixture should not be smooth). Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Stir in butter, eggs, vanilla, zest, and walnuts.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter springform pan. Roll out 1 portion of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round (dough will be soft; chill or freeze briefly if it becomes difficult to work with). Peel off top sheet of parchment and carefully invert dough into pan. (Dough will tear easily but can be patched together with your fingers.) Press dough onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan, then trim excess. Chill tart shell until ready to assemble crostata.
• Roll out remaining dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round. Peel off top sheet of parchment, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips and slide (still on parchment) onto a tray. Chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Spread fig filling in shell. Arrange 5 strips of dough 1 inch apart on filling. Arrange remaining 5 strips 1 inch apart across first strips to form a lattice. Trim edges of strips flush with edge of shell. Sprinkle crostata with sugar.
• Bake until filling is slightly puffed and pastry is pale golden, about 30 minutes. Cool completely, then remove side of pan. Serve crostata with mascarpone.v

RUSTIC BLUEBERRY AND FIG CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll pie crust out on a floured work surface to about 10 inches. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
• Combine blueberries, flour, sugar, tarragon, lemon zest and juice, and almond extract in a medium bowl. Mix well.
• Spoon blueberry mixture into the center of the pie crust, leaving about a 2-inch border. Place fig slices in the center in a circular pattern. Fold crust up all around the edge of the blueberries, crimping and pinching to create pleats.
• Whisk egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush edges of crust with mixture and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crust is crispy and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool and set, 15 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

RASPBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the crostada, dust a clean working surface with flour and roll out the pie dough until it's approximately 1/8-inch thick. Cut out a circular piece 8 inches in diameter. In a bowl, toss 1/2 cup of the raspberries with 1/4 cup of sugar. Place berries in the center of the pastry dough, leaving a 2 to 3-inch border. Begin folding crust into the center of the pastry, repeatedly allowing it to pleat as you lift the dough and work your way around the pastry. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and top with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. For the raspberry coulis, place 1/2 cup of raspberries in a small saute pan with 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes, or until berries release all their juices. Continue to cook until the mixture reaches a syrup consistency. Pass through a fine sieve or strainer while applying pressure with a ladle or the back of a spoon to remove all juices. Taste, for flavor then put aside to cool. Serve the warm crostada on top of Vanilla Anglaise; drizzle with the raspberry coulis.
• Before you begin, prepare an ice bath with an empty bowl and strainer. In a small bowl, using a wire whisk, mix egg yolks and 1/2 of the sugar. Place the heavy cream and the remaining sugar in a small pot. Slice the vanilla bean in 1/2, lengthwise. Using the back of a pairing knife, scrape the inside of the bean, removing all of the seeds. Place both the scrapings and the bean in the pot with the heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. While continuously whisking, slowly add cream and vanilla bean mixture to the egg yolks. Return liquid to pot and place over low heat while whisking. Do not stop whisking!! The mixture will begin to thicken. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, pass the mixture through the strainer and into the empty bowl over the ice bath. Continue mixing until cool. Serve underneath a raspberry crostada.

RASPBERRY-FIG CROSTATA

Steps:

• In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine flour, sesame seeds, almonds, sugar, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add 2 eggs and vanilla, and mix just until it comes together. Form into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm. (Double-wrapped, dough can be frozen up to 3 months.).
• In a saucepan, combine half the figs and half the raspberries with brown sugar, white sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Toss well. Add 1 tbsp butter. Bring to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes until thick. Transfer to a bowl and add reserved figs and raspberries. Stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust lemon or sugar if needed. Cool over ice bath until room temperature.
• Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove 1/3 of dough and return to refrigerator. Flour work bench and roll out larger piece of dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Dough will be very fragile, so keep it cold and work quickly but carefully. Transfer carefully to a 9" tart pan. Patch any holes carefully to be sure the base is solid. Press up to form sides.
• On a piece of baking parchment, roll out smaller piece of dough to 1/8" thick. Cut into 1/2" strips with pastry wheel or pizza cutter. Transfer parchment to a sheet pan and place in refrigerator 30 minutes.
• Fill tart shell with fruit mixture until level with top of shell, about 2½ cups of fruit. Beat 1 egg with water and brush over exposed edge of crust. Lay strips of dough over top in lattice formation. Brush each strip with egg wash as you lay it in place. Press down on lattice strips at edges of tart pan to press them into the edge of the tart shell and trim off excess. (Strips should form a lattice, but do not attempt to actually weave the strips - the dough is too fragile and will break.) Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Place pan on foil-wrapped baking sheet (to catch bubble-overs) and bake in preheated 350°F oven 40-45 minutes until juices are bubbly and lattice is golden-brown. Cool to room temperature, remove tart shell, and serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.