Cherry Crostata with Homemade Marmalade
Making this recipe takes about 2 hours time (assuming you do not make the marmalade and the crust simultaneously) plus another hour for the pastry dough to chill. I made the marmalade the day before and stored it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it. When it is cold, it is very thick, so I warmed it up before putting it on top of the crust. The end result was wonderful. While I just topped it here with powdered sugar, it would be wonderful with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla gelato.
Ingredients for the Marmalade
1 pound cherries
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
juice of one half lemon
zest of one lemon
Instructions for Making the Marmalade
Step 1: Thoroughly wash and dry the cherries and remove the pits.
Step 2: Place the cherries in a frying pan
Step 3: Add the sugar and the lemon juice and zest.
Step 4: Cook over medium heat stirring frequently for about one hour until the mixture becomes thick and the cherries are tender.
Step 5: Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool. If you are using this the same day, let cool completely before you put it on the pastry crust. If you plan to use it the next day, put it in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight and warm it up before putting on the crust.
Ingredients for the Crostata
1 1/2 cups of flour ( I usually use double 00 which is readily available in Italy, but all purpose flour works also)
2 tablespoons of sugar
10 tablespoons of butter - cold right from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon of lemon peel grated
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons (approximately) of ice water
Equipment
Food processor with the plastic blade
1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Oven temperature 400 degrees (200 C)
Making the Crostata
Step 1: Pulse flour, sugar and lemon peel in the food processor to mix.
Step 2: Add the butter and pulse until the dough looks like a very coarse cornmeal.
Step 3: Add the salt and the ice water. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms moist clumps. If you do not make your dough too wet, it will form a more flaky crust, but it will be a little more difficult to work.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and work the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disk form and wrap in plastic wrap.
Step 5: Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour until it is firm.
Step 6: Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Step 7: Roll out the dough to an approximately 11-12 inch round and transfer to a tart pan. (I either roll my dough out on parchment or the plastic wrap so that it is easier to transfer to the pan.If it is on the parchment paper, I just leave it on the parchment using it to line the tart pan. This is particularly useful if you do not have a pan with a bottom that is separate from the sides and can be removed.)
Step 8: Fold the edges of the dough over and crimp as you would a regular pie crust.
Step 9: Spread the homemade marmalade evenly over the crust, and place the crostata in the center of the oven.
Step 10: Bake until the crust is golden brown approximately 30 to 35 minutes.
Step 11: When the crostata is cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar and some slivered or coarsely chopped almonds, if desired.
Ingredients for the Marmalade
1 pound cherries
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
juice of one half lemon
zest of one lemon
Instructions for Making the Marmalade
Step 1: Thoroughly wash and dry the cherries and remove the pits.
Step 2: Place the cherries in a frying pan
Step 3: Add the sugar and the lemon juice and zest.
Step 4: Cook over medium heat stirring frequently for about one hour until the mixture becomes thick and the cherries are tender.
Step 5: Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool. If you are using this the same day, let cool completely before you put it on the pastry crust. If you plan to use it the next day, put it in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight and warm it up before putting on the crust.
Ingredients for the Crostata
1 1/2 cups of flour ( I usually use double 00 which is readily available in Italy, but all purpose flour works also)
2 tablespoons of sugar
10 tablespoons of butter - cold right from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon of lemon peel grated
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons (approximately) of ice water
Equipment
Food processor with the plastic blade
1 baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Oven temperature 400 degrees (200 C)
Making the Crostata
Step 1: Pulse flour, sugar and lemon peel in the food processor to mix.
Step 2: Add the butter and pulse until the dough looks like a very coarse cornmeal.
Step 3: Add the salt and the ice water. Add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms moist clumps. If you do not make your dough too wet, it will form a more flaky crust, but it will be a little more difficult to work.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and work the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disk form and wrap in plastic wrap.
Step 5: Refrigerate the dough for about 1 hour until it is firm.
Step 6: Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Step 7: Roll out the dough to an approximately 11-12 inch round and transfer to a tart pan. (I either roll my dough out on parchment or the plastic wrap so that it is easier to transfer to the pan.If it is on the parchment paper, I just leave it on the parchment using it to line the tart pan. This is particularly useful if you do not have a pan with a bottom that is separate from the sides and can be removed.)
Step 8: Fold the edges of the dough over and crimp as you would a regular pie crust.
Step 9: Spread the homemade marmalade evenly over the crust, and place the crostata in the center of the oven.
Step 10: Bake until the crust is golden brown approximately 30 to 35 minutes.
Step 11: When the crostata is cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar and some slivered or coarsely chopped almonds, if desired.