Strawberry Almond Crostata Recipes

ALMOND CUSTARD TART WITH STRAWBERRIES

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, salt, and egg yolk. Stir in flour and oats until a crumbly dough forms. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until set and light golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Filling: In a medium saucepan, heat milk, salt, and vanilla seeds until simmering around the edges. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together yolks and sugar until pale and thick; whisk in cornstarch until smooth. Whisking constantly, gradually add half of milk to egg mixture, then pour egg mixture into saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly until custard is thickened and bubbles once in the center, about 2 minutes.
• Using a rubber spatula, press custard through a sieve into crust; smooth with a small offset spatula. Cover surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours. Just before serving, arrange strawberries on top and sprinkle with almonds.

STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB GALETTE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Stack the two discs of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a disc about 12 inches wide. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Set aside.
• Toss together the rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside. Roll out the almond paste into a 10-inch circle.
• Place the almond paste on the dough. Top evenly with the strawberry-rhubarb filling, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Fold the dough edges toward the center of the galette, up and over the edges of the filling, overlapping as needed.
• Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Brush on the edges of the galette and sprinkle with the almonds and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
• Bake until the filling is bubbly and the edges are nicely browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving with whipped cream or ice cream.

STRAWBERRY CROSTATA WITH WALNUTS

Steps:

• 1.Dough: In the food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until crumbly. Pour the cold water through the hole in the top of the machine and pulse only to combine. Form into an 8-inch long cylinder (about 2 inches in diameter) and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2.Filling: Heat a large saute pan over high heat. Place a baking sheet next to the stove. When the saute pan is fairly hot, add the butter for the filling. When it melts and foams slightly, add the strawberries. Toss to coat with the butter and add 1/4 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice. Toss to blend and allow some of the liquid to escape from the berries and reduce. After 2 minutes, sprinkle with cornstarch, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet. Spread the strawberry mixture out so it cools faster and refrigerate until very cool. 3.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 4.Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 8 equal pieces. Press each disk with your hand to flatten and using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a circle that is about 6-inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick. Make sure you flour lightly under and on top of the dough as you roll it. Trim edges with a sharp paring knife or circular pizza cutter if you want a cleaner edge on the crostata. 5.Meanwhile, remove strawberry mixture from refrigerator and transfer to a fine strainer placed over a bowl. Strain strawberries so that almost no liquid remains with the berries, being sure not to crush the fruit. 6.Arrange the tart rounds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon walnuts onto the center of each round. Divide the cooked strawberries evenly among the dough circles. Fold the sides up tightly around the fruit to form a purse, making the fruit the center, they will open slightly during baking. Cover the opening left after folding with a few more walnuts. Refrigerate circles if they become too soft to handle. 7.Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with any remaining walnuts. Sprinkle with sugar for added texture. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to serving plates using a wide spatula. Serve immediately.
• Note: Use strained thickened strawberry liquid as a sauce with the tarts or with ice cream. Stir in 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier, if desired.
• © 2013 John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.
• Fisher® is a registered trademark of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc.

STRAWBERRY AND ALMOND CRUMBLE

Steps:

• If I had to choose one thing that cooking could not make better, I'd have put good money that it would have been a bad (as in unripe and tasteless) strawberry. I'd almost be embarrassed even owning up to trying to improve it, were it not for the fact that I read an article by Simon Hopkinson, a revered British chef, in which he advised using said strawberries in a pie. So I did. Well, that's not quite true: I am lazier than him, so I made a crumble. I don't know what, how or why it happened, but this is a crumble of dreams. The oven doesn't, as you'd think, turn the berries into a red-tinted mush of slime, but into berry-intense bursts of tender juiciness. This is nothing short of alchemy: you take the vilest, crunchiest supermarket strawberries, top them with an almondy, buttery rubble, bake and turn them into the taste of English summer on a cold day. Naturally, serve with lashings of cream: I regard this is obligatory not optional.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the hulled strawberries into your pie dish (I use a round one) and sprinkle over them the sugar, almond meal, and vanilla extract. Give the dish a good shake or two to mix the ingredients.
• Now for the crumble topping: put the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and rub in the cold, diced butter between thumb and fingers (or in a free standing mixer).When you've finished with it, it should resemble rough, pale oatmeal. Stir in the sliced almonds and turbinado sugar with a fork.
• Tip this over the strawberry mixture, covering the strawberries in an even layer and giving a bit of a press in at the edges of the dish. Set the dish on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, by which time the crumble topping will have darkened to a pale gold and some pink-red juices will be seeping and bubbling out at the edges.
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving, and be sure to put a pitcher of chilled heavy cream on the table alongside.

RASPBERRY AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar, and lemon peel, in a food processor.
• Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
• Add salt and pulse in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until moist clumps form.
• Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk then wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an 11-inch round then transfer the dough onto a heavy baking sheet that has been lined with a silpat or parchment paper.
• Heat in the microwave the almond paste with 2 T of butter to thin it out, then spread on top of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Stir the lemon juice into the raspberry preserve and spread on top of almond paste, still leaving a 2-inch border.
• Fold the 2-inch dough border over to form an 8-inch round, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough (looks like a flat pie).
• Bake until the crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Allow to cool.
• Sprinkle with the almonds and dust with the powdered sugar, if you wish.
• Slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the crostata from the baking sheet and serve.
• Optional: Top with chopped hazelnuts instead of almonds; or mix some lemon juice w/powdered sugar and drizzle over the top after cooking.
• *There are several good almond paste recipes on Zaar.

FRESH STRAWBERRY ALMOND PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In small bowl, stir together all crust ingredients. Press on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely.
• Mash enough strawberries to equal 1 cup. In 2-quart saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in mashed berries and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (8 to 15 minutes). Boil 1 minute; remove from heat.
• Stir in salt and almond extract; cool 10 minutes. Fill baked crust with remaining fresh strawberries; pour cooked mixture over fresh berries. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and walnuts if desired.

CRANBERRY ALMOND CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Pulse almonds with 1/4 cup flour until finely ground (be careful not to grind to a paste).
• Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon beaten egg, chilled, for egg wash and beat remaining egg into butter mixture, then add vanilla and almond extracts, beating well. At low speed, mix in almond mixture, zest, salt, and remaining 1 3/4 cups flour until mixture just forms a dough.
• 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.
• Make filling:
• Bring cranberries, orange juice, marmalade, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a heavy medium pot, stirring, then simmer, uncovered, until some of cranberries burst and mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Cool filling quickly by spreading it in a shallow baking pan and chilling until lukewarm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake crostata:
• Preheat oven to 375°F with a foil-lined large baking sheet on middle rack. Generously butter springform pan.
• Roll out 1 piece of dough between sheets of parchment paper into a 12-inch round (dough will be very tender). Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into springform pan. (Dough will tear easily but can be patched together with your fingers.) Press dough over bottom and up side of pan, trimming dough to reach 1/2 inch up side of pan. Chill shell.
• Roll out remaining dough into a 12-inch round in same manner. Remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1/3-inch-wide) strips with pastry wheel and slide (still on wax paper) onto a tray. Freeze strips until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Spread filling in chilled 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 reserved beaten egg and sprinkle crostata with granulated sugar.
• Bake crostata in pan on hot baking sheet until pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes. (If pastry is too brown after 30 minutes, loosely cover crostata with foil.) Cool crostata completely in pan on a rack, 1 1/2 to 2 hours (to allow juices to thicken).

FRESH BLUEBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. In large bowl, mix blueberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, water and almond extract.
• Remove crust from pouch; unroll on ungreased cookie sheet. Spread 1/4 cup of the almonds over crust; press lightly into crust.
• Spoon blueberry mixture onto center of crust to within 2 inches of edge of crust. Fold 2-inch edge of crust over blueberry mixture, crimping crust slightly. Sprinkle crust edge with sugar crystals.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes, sprinkling remaining 1/4 cup almonds over blueberry mixture during last 5 minutes of baking, until crust is golden. Cool slightly.