Rustic Cherry Tart With Ricotta And Almonds Recipes

RUSTIC CHERRY TART WITH RICOTTA AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Line a large mesh colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth and place over a larger, deeper bowl. Place ricotta in colander; transfer to refrigerator. Let ricotta drain at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lower third. Roll out dough into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick) on a piece of parchment. Transfer dough on parchment to a baking sheet; freeze 10 minutes or chill 30 minutes. Stir together egg yolk and cream; brush on dough. Sprinkle with sanding sugar and almonds. Bake until deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. (Tent edges with foil if they begin to overbrown.) Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, toss together cherries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
• Just before serving, spread crust with ricotta. Top ricotta with cherry mixture, using a slotted spoon (reserve juices for serving, if desired). Sprinkle tart with lemon zest, cut into squares, and serve immediately.

CRANBERRY-RICOTTA TARTS IN A TOASTED ALMOND CRUST

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine the almonds and brown sugar and grind until the almonds are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and pulse on and off, just until the butter is incorporated into the mixture. Place 6 (4-inch) tart pans with removable bottoms on a baking sheet. (Or you can use a 10-inch pan with removable bottom.) Divide the almond mixture evenly among the tart pans, pressing the crust firmly against the sides and bottoms. Set aside.
• In a small saute pan, slowly heat the brandy, and pour it over the cranberries in a heatproof bowl. (Caution: Do not heat alcohol over a high heat or it will ignite. If this happens, simply let it burn away, making sure that there is nothing flammable near the stove. It will burn away in a matter of seconds.) Let the cranberries sit for 20 minutes and then drain.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and stir vigorously until the mixture is very creamy.
• TO ASSEMBLE: Place the tart pans on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the cranberries into the crust. Carefully pour the cheese mixture just until it reaches the top of the crust. Bake the tarts in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. Let them cool completely before serving. As the tarts cool, the filling will fall and shrivel slightly. Nonetheless, they will still look irresistible. Remove tarts from pans just before serving.

SOUR CHERRY TART

Steps:

• For the pate brisee, place the flour, sugar, salt and butter pieces in owl and crush the butter into the dry ingredients with the tips of your fingers until combined somewhat but with pieces of butter still visible in the mixture. Add the ice water and stir with a fork just until the mixture holds together. Gather it up, pressing it between your hands to flatten it and make it round, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
• Rub a small amount of flour into a pastry cloth and roll the dough into a very thin circle, about 12 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and gently fit it into the bottom and up the sides of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough against the sides of the pan to fill in any holes and make it adhere to the metal. Remove any excess overhanging dough by rolling the rolling pin across the top of the pan. Refrigerate the tart shell for one hour.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the cherries, tapioca, sugar and almond extract. Sprinkle the ground almond-sugar mixture in the pastry shell and arrange the cherry mixture on top. Place the tart pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven for one to one-and-a-quarter hours, until the dough is nicely browned. Unmold and serve with strong coffee.

TORTA RUSTICA WITH RICOTTA AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and pulse until the mixture forms lima bean-size pieces. Alternatively, mix together flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl, then add butter, working the pieces into the flour with your hands, squeezing and pinching them until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Add egg, egg white and lemon zest, and pulse after each addition. If working by hand, whisk together egg, egg white and lemon zest in a separate bowl, then mix into the butter mixture. Slowly add iced wine, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse or mix by hand until the dough just comes together. You may not need all the liquid. The dough should be moist, but not wet.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and gather and press it into a ball. Divide into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other, and shape into disks. Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the filling: If your ricotta seems watery, put it in a sieve and let it drain while you cook the spinach.
• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and a large pinch of salt, and continue to cook until spinach is very dry, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a large bowl to cool. If any liquid accumulates as the spinach sits, pour it out of the bowl (you don't want it to water down the ricotta).
• In a food processor, purée drained ricotta and eggs until just combined and smooth. Add to the bowl with the spinach and fold in mozzarella, pecorino, ham (if using), parsley, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, red-pepper flakes and nutmeg. Set aside when rolling out dough (or chill for up to 4 hours).
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the larger pastry dough disk to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing the dough up the sides of the pan. Scrape filling into crust and spread evenly. Roll out second pastry disk to a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cut 1/2-inch-wide strips and weave into a lattice on top of the filling. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the top of the torta with the egg wash.
• Place torta on sheet pan and bake until crust is crisp and brown, and filling is firm, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 45 minutes before serving.

CHERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, cracker crumbs and butter until crumbly. Beat in egg. Stir in chopped almonds. , Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 14-in. pizza pan. Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely. , In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Spread over crust. Top with pie filling. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

RUSTIC CHERRY TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a clean work surface with parchment, and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out puff pastry to an 1/8-inch thickness. Cut a 12-inch circle out of the dough. Roll up the edges, making a 10-inch crust. Transfer the parchment and crust to a baking sheet, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Place butter, 1/3 cup sugar, almond flour, whole egg, and almond extract in a medium bowl; mix until well combined.
• Prick entire surface of chilled crust with a fork. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and heavy cream; brush mixture on the surface and edges of the crust. Using an offset spatula, spread the almond mixture evenly in an 1/8-inch-thick layer over bottom of the crust, and chill 15 minutes more.
• Spread cherries in a single layer over the almond mixture. Bake tart 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle remaining 4 teaspoons sugar over tart; continue baking until edges turn deep-golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.