Blueberry Crostata

The other day I made a Blueberry Crostata with some frozen blueberries that we picked last summer. It was amazing to say the least and the crust was a thing of beauty.

For the pastry 1 1/2 cups plain flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp cold butter, cubed, pinch of salt, 1 egg yolk, save the egg white in a little bowl, 2 tbsp cold water, To make the dough, put the flour, sugar, butter and salt in a food processor. Pulse enough times for the mixture to resemble course crumbs.

Add the egg yolk and cold water. Continue to mix on low until a dough forms. Scrape the dough together and form it into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the blueberry filling 16 oz of frozen blueberries (make sure the berries have been thawed and rinsed and drained well), 3 tbsp white sugar, 3 tbsp corn starch

To make the filling, put the blueberries in a medium bowl and mix in the flour and sugar and set aside.

Roll the dough out into a roughly shaped disc on parchment paper. If you haven't discovered parchment paper you should...you can thank me later.

Slide the whole thing onto a baking sheet ( I used a pizza pan).

Pile the berries into the center.

Fold the crust up over the fruit overlapping the crust along the way to shape the rustic inside edge. Brush the dough with that saved egg white and sprinkle on some raw sugar.

Pop it in to a 350 degree preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. This dessert is easy and goes well with fresh whipped cream.

My much loved Aunt Martha passed away early this morning. She was seventy nine years old, had spent the last 64 years being married to my rough around the edges Uncle Junior. She had been sick on and off for sometime. I remember one of the last things my uncle said to me...she was here in town at the hospital...He said to me "What the hell am I going to do!? She's been cutting my hair for the last 60 odd years!"...That's love. They weren't the perfect couple, but they knew what it took to make things work. Aunt Marth we are all going to miss you so damn much.

Crostata & Coffee

Sometime last winter I spied this lonely only slightly dented can of Apricot pastry and pie filling in the dent bin at my local grocery store. I bought it not knowing what I would use it for, but I cannot pass up a good deal or the opportunity to try something new. Therefore, that lonely can of pastry filling went from the dent bin to a distant corner on my pantry shelf that is until last Saturday.

The bf and I had plans to go over to a friend’s house for coffee late Saturday morning and I thought it would be great if I took something that would go great with coffee. Of course, I could have stopped off and bought something from my local patisserie shop, but you know me ever the baking fool I thought it would be best if I baked something.

I had decided that making something using that lonely can of Apricot pastry filling would be the best, so I decided on a crostata. I had made one a few years ago for Christmas Day dessert and for whatever reason my children were less than thrilled. I honestly do not think their taste buds have completely matured yet. Anyway, the crostata turned out to be just the thing our Saturday morning coffee needed.

In the bowl of your food processor with the dough blade already in, pulse together 1 ½ cups flour, 2 Tlb. sugar, grated zest from one lemon, ¼ tsp salt, 10 Tlb. butter chilled ( half salted, half unsalted) until small crumbs form. Then pulse in 3 Tlb. ice water ( I think I used 1 additional Tlb. of ice water). Pulse until you get the dough to come together in moist clumps.

Shape dough into a flat round disk and wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Place dough onto a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll out dough to a 11 or 12 in circle.

Transfer to a baking sheet.

Spread the entire can of Apricot Pastry filling over the surface of the dough coming within 2 in. of the edge.

Next you fold over the edges of the crust forming an eight in. round pleating and pinching and getting rid of any cracks in the crust.

Bake in a preheated oven (400 degrees) for 40 min. Give or take a few min.

When it comes out of the oven dust it with some powdered sugar and sprinkle on some toasted almond slivers. Let it cool on a wire rack until it is just warmish.

This was the perfect treat to go with coffee. The crust was buttery and crisp and it had just the right amount of sweet and tart from the Apricot preserve. The best part is I had one slice and left the rest behind when I went home.