Rustic Plum Fruit Tart Food

RUSTIC PLUM TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not overmix.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.
• Make the filling and bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Mound plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold border over fruit in a pleated pattern. Brush dough with egg wash.
• Bake tart until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (see note), about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

RUSTIC PLUM TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; blend until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• For topping:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss plums, 4 tablespoons sugar, ginger and cinnamon in bowl. Roll out dough on floured surface to 12 1/2-inch round. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl; sprinkle over dough, leaving 2-inch plain border. Arrange plums in concentric circles on dough, leaving 2-inch plain border; drizzle with melted butter. Fold dough border in toward center. Brush border with egg glaze; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake tart until plums are tender and crust is golden, about 45 minutes.
• Stir preserves in saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush over plums. Cool tart 1 hour on baking sheet. Run long thin knife under tart to loosen. Using 9-inch tart pan bottom, transfer tart to plate; serve at room temperature.

RUSTIC GINGER PLUM TART

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine the flour, salt and butter in a large bowl. Using a bench scraper or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the butter is pea-sized. Slowly add the ice water, folding it into the flour until a dough comes together, being mindful not to overwork it. (If the dough is too dry, add another tablespoon of ice water at a time.) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 1/8-inch-thick circle. Then roll it up onto the rolling pin and gently lay it out on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• For the filling: In the center of the rolled out dough, add the plums and sprinkle them with the brown sugar, ginger, vanilla, lemon juice, salt, flour and butter. Fold the edges of the dough over to create a rough border; it doesn¿t have to be perfect, just good enough to form a wall. Brush the edges with milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Bake until the filling is bubbling and thickened, and the crust is golden brown, 45 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly.
• Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in.
• Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

RUSTIC PLUM CROSTATA WITH LEMON THYME

Steps:

• In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse together the flours, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt until blended. In a measuring cup, lightly beat the egg, and add just enough cream to get to 1/3 cup. Lightly whisk the egg and cream together.
• Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse to break up the butter. Do not over-process; you need lima-bean-size chunks of butter. Drizzle the egg mixture over the dough and pulse until it just starts to come together but is still mostly large crumbs.
• Put the dough on the counter and knead to make one uniform piece. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours or up to 3 days.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough out to a 12-inch round (it can be ragged). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and chill while preparing the filling.
• Toss together the plums, all but a tablespoon of the remaining sugar, a pinch of salt and the cornstarch. Pile fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently fold the pastry over the fruit, pleating to hold it in (sloppy is fine). Brush pastry with cream. Sprinkle remaining sugar on top, with the thyme.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Remove the thyme branches (some leaves will cling; you want this). Serve warm or at room temperature.

RUSTIC HARVEST FRUIT TART

Steps:

• The morning before you want to make the tart, remember to put the butter in the freezer - try wrapping it in foil first (it will keep it colder when you hold it to grate later).
• To make the pastry, mix the flour in a big bowl with a good pinch of salt and 2 tbsp of the sugar. Using a coarse cheese grater, grate in the butter, trying to hold it as little as possible so that it doesn't warm up too much, and stirring it in with a cutlery knife as you go. When all the butter is in, give it a final good stir with the knife to make sure all strands of butter are coated in the flour, then quickly stir in 150-175ml of very cold water. Lightly bring the pastry together with your hands, wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
• Layer all the fruit in another bowl, sprinkling over the sugar and cornflour as you go. Add the orange zest and give everything a light mix. Set aside until your pastry is ready.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 with a baking sheet in it. Lightly dust another baking sheet with flour and roll out the pastry onto it in a rough circle until the pastry is about 0.5cm thick. If you want, use a small, sharp knife to cut a pattern around the edge of the pastry.
• Give the fruit another mix, then pile into the middle of the pastry, leaving a 7cm border of clear pastry all around the edge. Fold the pastry border up and over the fruit filling, pinching bits together to keep it neat and in place. Whisk the egg white until very frothy. Using a pastry brush, brush the froth all over the pastry. Dredge over the remaining granulated sugar, and sprinkle a little more over the fruit. Lift onto the heated sheet and bake for 35 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crispy. Serve straight from the oven with lashings of custard or, if you're feeling really wicked, some Cornish clotted cream.

RUSTIC PLUM (FRUIT) TART

Steps:

• Line baking sheet with parchment paper; coat parchment paper with cooking spray.
• Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together plums and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Unroll piecrust on prepared baking sheet. Roll into a 12-inch circle.
• Drain plum mixture, reserving liquid. Toss plums in flour.
• Mound plums in center of piecrust, leaving a 3-inch border. Fold piecrust border up and over plums, pleating as you go, leaving an opening about 5 inches wide in center.
• Stir together egg and 1 tablespoons water. Brush piecrust with egg mixture, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and crust is golden. Carefully transfer tart on parchment paper to a wire rack; cool 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring reserved plum liquid to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let cool slightly. Brush or drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons hot plum liquid over exposed fruit in center of tart. Serve immediately with remaining plum syrup, and, if desired, Sweet Cream Topping.
• Sweet Cream Topping: Stir together 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons brown sugar. Cover and chill 2 hours before serving. Stir just before serving.
• Peach-Nectarine Tart: White peaches won't work as well in this tart because of their delicate texture. Prepare recipe as directed, substituting 3/4 lb. peeled nectarines and 3/4 lb. peeled peaches for plums and peach preserves for plum preserves.
• Apricot-Almond Tart: Prepare recipe as directed, substituting fresh apricots for plums and apricot preserves for plum preserves. Omit allspice.
• Fresh Cherry Tart: Prepare recipe as directed, substituting 1 1/2 lb. fresh cherries, pitted, for plums and cherry preserves for plum preserves.