Strawberry crostata

As a kid my favorite dessert was strawberry tart – it was similar to the banana tart I made for my dad a while ago: same crust and filling, with the strawberries beautifully arranged on top of the velvety cream – mom brushed the berries with jam so they’d be shiny and pretty. :)

My taste buds have changed a lot all these years and my childhood tart is no longer my favorite dessert, but I’m still crazy about strawberries; I used them instead of rhubarb and raspberries in this recipe and have to say that NOT eating all the filling before making the crostata was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done in my kitchen. :)

Strawberry crostata
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

600g strawberries, hulled and halved
1 ¼ cups (250g) caster sugar
1 10cm-piece of orange zest
juice of 1 orange
1 5cm-piece of lime zest
juice of ½ lime
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
1 egg beaten with ½ tablespoon water, for brushing (egg wash)
2 tablespoons demerara sugar, for dusting

Pasta frolla:
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (220g) all purpose flour
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons (100g) cold unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
60g pure icing sugar, sifted
scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
pinch of salt
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

For pasta frolla, process flour, butter, icing sugar, vanilla seeds and salt in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Gradually add egg mixture, process until mixture just comes together – you might not need all the egg mixture. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate to rest (1-2 hours).

Meanwhile, combine strawberries in a large saucepan with caster sugar, zests, juices, ginger and vanilla seeds. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and stir occasionally until very thick and jammy (10-15 minutes) – while mixing, squash the berries down using a silicon spatula to release all their juices. Set aside to cool completely, the remove the orange/lime zest pieces.

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Roll out two-thirds of the pasta frolla on a lightly floured surface into a 3mm-thick rectangle and line a buttered 13cm x 36cm rectangular tart pan, trim edges and spoon in cooled strawberry mixture. Roll out remaining pasta frolla on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick, then cut into 15mm-wide strips. Arrange strips in a lattice over jam, press pastry edges to seal and trim excess. Brush pastry with egg wash, dust with demerara sugar and bake until pastry is crisp and golden (40-45 minutes).
Cool in pan before serving.
Crostata is best eaten on day of making.

Serves 10 – I made ¾ of the recipe above and used a 30x10cm pan; there was some pasta frolla left, and I froze it.