I love Jam. I swear preserves are one of the greatest achievements of mankind. There is just something awesome about fruit smeared over toast, croissant or crumpet. There is only one problem with this delicious innovation. Due to my slightly obsessive behavior, OK, forget the slightly... My refrigerator tends to accumulate an excessive amount of 'Jars du Jam'. When I can no longer open the door without a plethora of crashing glass, it is time to clean house. The fastest way I know to eliminate a mound of marmalade, is to bake Crostata.
Crostata is a delicious free form jam tart from Italy. Wonderfully simple, charmingly rustic and absolutely delicious. I'm crazy about them. (Much to the relief of my refrigerator) Thus is was, this evening, that I cleaned out the reminants of 5 Jams... On the list this evening was the last of what had been my frozen Meyer Lemon Curd as well as the disturbingly green Key Lime Curd from a couple months ago. These were closely followed by some Swedish Cranberry, Black Currant Jelly and Strawberry. I am now Jam free, which leaves plenty more room for any new and interesting preserves I... er, um... OK, maybe I will hold off ---- for just a little while.
1 recipe Pâte Brisée
Jam, Marmalade, Jelly or Curd of your choosing
1 large egg or egg white ; well beaten (whole egg produced more golden color, white alone produces shine)
Sanding Sugar or Demerara sugar
First prepare the Pâte Brisée.
Once the dough can be gathered together, cut into eight pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap; chill for 30 mintues.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove 1 pasty ball and turn out onto a floured surface
Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. (it doesn't have to be a perfect circle, this is rustic)
Spread about 2-3 TB of Jam/Jelly/Marmalade/Curd in the center using an offset spatula; leaving a 1/2 to 3/4 inch boarder for folding.
Begin folding the edges over, allowing them to wrinkle as you are going.
Move to a parchment lined baking sheet (I use 2 spatulas)
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush with egg or egg white.
Sprinkle the edge with Sanding or Demerara sugar.
Return to the oven for 12-15 minutes.
Move to a rack to cool completely, cause hot jam REALLY burns.
And there you have it...
Key Lime and Meyer Lemon Curd
Top left - Strawberry; Top right and Bottom left - Swedish Cranberry; Bottom right - Black Currant.
Mangia!!
~~
Crostata is a delicious free form jam tart from Italy. Wonderfully simple, charmingly rustic and absolutely delicious. I'm crazy about them. (Much to the relief of my refrigerator) Thus is was, this evening, that I cleaned out the reminants of 5 Jams... On the list this evening was the last of what had been my frozen Meyer Lemon Curd as well as the disturbingly green Key Lime Curd from a couple months ago. These were closely followed by some Swedish Cranberry, Black Currant Jelly and Strawberry. I am now Jam free, which leaves plenty more room for any new and interesting preserves I... er, um... OK, maybe I will hold off ---- for just a little while.
Crostata
1 recipe Pâte Brisée
Jam, Marmalade, Jelly or Curd of your choosing
1 large egg or egg white ; well beaten (whole egg produced more golden color, white alone produces shine)
Sanding Sugar or Demerara sugar
First prepare the Pâte Brisée.
Once the dough can be gathered together, cut into eight pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap; chill for 30 mintues.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Remove 1 pasty ball and turn out onto a floured surface
Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. (it doesn't have to be a perfect circle, this is rustic)
Spread about 2-3 TB of Jam/Jelly/Marmalade/Curd in the center using an offset spatula; leaving a 1/2 to 3/4 inch boarder for folding.
Begin folding the edges over, allowing them to wrinkle as you are going.
Move to a parchment lined baking sheet (I use 2 spatulas)
Bake for 10 minutes.Remove from oven and brush with egg or egg white.
Sprinkle the edge with Sanding or Demerara sugar.
Return to the oven for 12-15 minutes.Move to a rack to cool completely, cause hot jam REALLY burns.
And there you have it...Key Lime and Meyer Lemon Curd
Top left - Strawberry; Top right and Bottom left - Swedish Cranberry; Bottom right - Black Currant.
Mangia!!~~
Delicious. Fly a few over here.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea for me, my husband will not eat pie, and I certainly do not NEED a whole pie sitting around for me to eat. This would satisfy my pie cravings, I will just cut down the crust to make a single serving (or two.) I always have jam in my fridge. Thanks for sharing your creative mind with all of us.
ReplyDeleteyum!!! I'd like to have one or 2 with my wonderful cup of french press coffee (thank you for that too!!). what a fun way to use up all those jars. I probably have a few I could do that too as well.
ReplyDeleteDude. Cmon. That's what you do when you clean out your jam? My girlfriend has the same... issue with jam/preserves that you do. I get pb&j. Although I suppose it's my own fault since I'm the cook... heh. They look amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Did you know that rustic is my favorite culinary term? Seriously. These are gorgeous...like stained glass all together like this. Um, you are way too cool for me!! I'm tellin' ya...pie (crostata) king! Cuz they're kinda pie-like, right? LOL.
ReplyDelete