Fresh Strawberry Tart

Imagine a crunchy sugar cookie crust topped with fresh strawberries. Glazed with a barely sweet mixture of citrus-scented jam, this fresh strawberry tart brings that imaginary taste to reality.

I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for a fresh strawberry tart in the 1990 “Best of Italy” issue of Bon Appétit. Chef and cookbook author Mimmetta Lo Monte had included the tart as her finale for a dinner menu with Sicilian flavors. The crust was freeform and the strawberries were sweetened only with a thin layer of strawberry preserves. It looked like a relatively easy, rustic dessert, perfect for a June dinner. 

The crust

Simple ingredients make up the crust, but baking powder and an egg yolk help it to be more cookie-like, while fresh lemon zest and juice brighten the flavor. I followed Lo Monte’s list of ingredients, but I changed the methodology from hand-mixing the pastry to creating it with the food processor. A few pulses in the processor brought the dough together in minutes.

I discovered on my first try, however, that the dough was a bit tricky to work with. It stuck to my countertop when I tried to roll it out, so I scraped it together into a disc and chilled it for a second time. Rolling it out between sheets of wax paper helped me to avoid the stuck-pastry syndrome the next time.  But I still had another lesson to learn.

That was when I discovered that the pastry needs pampering both before and after baking. When I tried to lift the baked crust from the greased baking pan, it broke into three pieces.

On my next attempt, a simple piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet solved how to successfully move the crust from one surface to another.

That method ensured a smooth transfer from baking sheet to serving dish.

The topping

Typical commercial strawberry pies I’ve encountered in the past have a very red, very gloopy filling. The mystery gloop holds the fruit together to create tall slices, but it comes across as artificial. This tart uses a small amount of strawberry jam, thinned and flavored with a bit of fresh lemon juice, to anchor the berries to the crust.

After the berry halves have been placed on the crust, another bit of lemon juice brightens the remaining jam to make a quick and tasty glaze. The pound of berries I used had different sizes. Their variety added to the visual interest of the tart and made it seem even more rustic.

Rustic is a helpful term, especially when baking. It allows all kinds of imperfections. Focus remains on the tastes of the dish instead of the looks.  Remember the crust that broke into its own version of a peace sign?   Beautiful halved strawberries would later help to hide most of my damage and salvage the tart.

Even a cracked, asymmetrical crust with uneven edges looks good when crowned with fresh strawberries.

Rustic equals easily fixable and definitely tasty.

A slice of tart finished our June meal with seasonal sweetness.

Fresh Strawberry Tart

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

Gleaming sweet berries sit atop a crunchy, lemon-scented buttery crust in this rustic Italian take on a fresh strawberry tart.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Resting and cooling time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

Crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• grated zest of one lemon (about 3/4 teaspoon)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Topping

• 1/2 cup strawberry preserves
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound fresh strawberries hulled and cut in half

Instructions

 

For the crust:

• Place flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt in bowl of processor. Pulse twice to mix ingredients.
• Add chilled butter to flour mixture. Pulse 6-8 times, until the butter is the size of coarse crumbs.
• Add egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to bowl. Pulse 3-4 times, until crumbs of dough, when pinched, stay together. If needed, add extra lemon juice to reach this stage.
• Place the dough crumbs on a large square of wax paper and squeeze them into a ball and then flatten into a disc, using the wax paper as an aid. Fold the wax paper over the disc to cover it completely and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Place the disc of dough between two sheets of wax paper that are over 12 inches long. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a circle of approximately 12 inches, turning the wax paper “sandwich” as needed to get the circle as even as possible. (Remember, this is rustic—no need for perfection.)
• Remove top layer of wax paper and set aside. Roll dough onto rolling pin and then move it onto the parchment paper on the baking sheet. Cover it again with one of the sheets of wax paper and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Place a piece of parchment paper on a heavy baking sheet, rimless if possible.
• Remove top wax paper from crust. Turn the edges of the dough over 3/4-inch to create a slightly raised rim. Crimp if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the crust is golden brown.
• Cool the crust in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Using parchment paper, lift the crust off of the pan and transfer to serving platter. Cool completely.

For topping:

• Bring strawberry preserves and 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to boil in a small saucepan. Allow to bubble away for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Brush all but 2 tablespoons of strawberry mixture onto the center of crust right up to the edge of the rim.
• Starting in the center, arrange halved berries in concentric circles atop crust.
• Mix 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice with remaining preserves. Brush this glaze over berries.

Notes

Crust can be made one day ahead. Cover in airtight container or with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature.

Once berries have been placed on tart, leave at room temperature, but serve within two hours.

Adapted from a recipe by Mimmetta Lo Monte published in Bon Appétit (March 1990)

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