Crostata With Dried Apricots And Taleggio Recipes

APRICOT CROSTATA

Steps:

• Mix together apricots, white sugar, and rum in a bowl. Cover and let macerate in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a 12-inch square of parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
• Place flour, cold butter, dark brown sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger into a food processor. Blend in short bursts until butter is in pea-sized lumps.
• Whisk together buttermilk and egg in a bowl; pour into butter-flour mixture and continue to blend until it forms a soft dough. Form dough into a smooth ball, using additional flour as needed.
• Pat dough ball into a thick circle onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Drain apricots, reserving juice in a bowl. Spread apricots evenly on top of dough circle; draw edges of dough up over fruit.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crostata is baked through, golden on top, and fruit is soft, about 45 minutes.
• While crostata is baking, pour reserved apricot juice and orange juice into a saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer; cook syrup until it has reduced by 2/3.
• Remove crostata from the oven. Brush syrup on top. Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

SAVORY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat an oven-proof 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onions and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are a dark golden-brown, about 15 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir in the balsamic and sprinkle the oregano over the top. Turn off the heat and spread the onions evenly over the bottom of the pan, using a rubber spatula.
• Place the ricotta in a small bowl. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper. Dollop the ricotta over the onions in 8 to 10 places. Using a fork, prick the puff pasty a few times evenly. Place the puff pastry over the top of the filling, pressing down gently to make sure the dough is touching the ricotta and onions.
• Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a plate slightly larger than the skillet. Invert the crostata onto the plate, replacing any onions that may have stuck to the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, dress the arugula with the lemon juice. Sprinkle the arugula over the cooled crostata and nestle the tomatoes into the onions. Slice into wedges or squares and serve.

ALMOND, APRICOT, AND CREAM CHEESE CROSTATA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Blend almond paste and 3 tablespoons sugar in processor until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, egg yolk, and vanilla and blend until filling is smooth. Unroll crust on heavy rimmed baking sheet. Spread filling over crust, leaving 1 1/2-inch plain border. Arrange apricot quarters, rounded side down, in spoke pattern in 2 concentric circles atop filling. Fold dough border up over edge of filling. Brush exposed apricots with warm jam. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar.
• Bake crostata until crust is golden brown and apricots are tender and slightly browned, about 43 minutes. Sprinkle with crushed amaretti. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

APRICOT AND CHERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make crust
• Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter; cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Blend in water by tablespoonfuls until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• Roll out dough between 2 sheets of plastic to 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of plastic from dough and invert dough onto 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Remove second sheet of plastic. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan. Fold excess dough in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until set but still pale, piercing with fork if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes. Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make filling
• Blanch apricots in pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Peel, halve and pit apricots. Cut each apricot half into 3 wedges. Arrange, rounded side down, in crust. Arrange cherries over and around apricots. Sprinkle sugar over.
• Bake tart until apricots are tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer to rack. Stir apricot preserves in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Strain. Brush strained preserves over fruit in tart. Remove pan sides from tart. Place tart on platter. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

CROSTATA DOUGH

Steps:

• Pulse flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and process until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream until mixture just begins to hold together.
• Shape dough into 2 disks. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 1 month; thaw in refrigerator before using).

APRICOT CROSTATA

Steps:

• Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour, salt, and lemon zest until mixture just forms a dough.
• Shape dough into 2 balls, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each ball into a 5-inch disk, then wrap each in wax paper and chill 30 minutes.
• Stir together preserves, lemon juice, and extract in a small bowl.
• Roll out thicker piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) between 2 sheets of wax paper into an 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of paper and invert dough into a 9- by 1-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom. Peel off paper and fit dough into pan, trimming side to 1/4 inch below top of rim. Chill shell.
• Roll out remaining dough in same manner and remove top sheet of paper, then cut dough into 10 (1-inch-wide) strips. Slide strips on wax paper onto a baking sheet and chill until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Spread apricot filling in tart shell and arrange 5 strips across filling (about 1 inch apart), trimming excess dough at ends of strips. Arrange remaining 5 strips on top (about 1 inch apart) to form a lattice (do not weave), trimming ends. Press ends onto edge of tart shell and bake crostata in middle of oven until golden, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack.