Satisfying as a pie, but as easy as cookies
Crostata gives you juicy essence of a tart without all the effort.
If you crave the juicy, jammy essence of a fruit tart but can only muster languid summer energy to make it, let me introduce you to the crostata.
I met my first crostata through my friend Elizabeth Minchilli. An American food writer living in Rome, she’s made her way through dozens of crostata variations over the years, adopting the best bits from each one, then mixing them together to create her own spin. Her recipe, published in her new book, “The Italian Table,” (Rizzoli, 2019), has a thick, buttery shortbread crust flecked with whole-wheat flour and grated lemon zest, and a glistening, not-too-sweet cherry jam filling. It’s the stuff of my sugardusted dreams — and the reason I never offer to bring dessert when going to Elizabeth’s.
But it wasn’t until I tried her recipe that I realized just how dead simple it was. If a pie is, say, a 6 on the easy-to-difficult pastry scale, Elizabeth’s crostata is a mere 2. It’s about as challenging as chocolate chip cookies, but a lot more elegant, with its crumbly topping sparkling with Demerara sugar.
Her big secret is that, instead of rolling out a traditional tart crust, she presses an egg yolk-enriched whole-wheat shortbread dough directly into the pan. The egg yolks make it tender; the wholewheat flour gives it texture and a mildly nutty flavor. There’s no floury counter to clean up, and no sticky rolling pin. And then she uses a portion of that same dough as the sprinkled-on topping.
As for the filling, while Elizabeth sometimes uses jam she’s made herself, she’ll just as readily open a jar of good-quality, storebought jam. The only caveat is to make sure the jam isn’t too sweet, which can throw off the balance.
In my adaptation, I take the entirely homemade route, making my own blackberry jam scented with lemon verbena. You’ll notice a small amount of blueberries added to the jam pot as well. While their flavor isn’t pronounced, the plump berries smooth out the seedy texture of the blackberries without having to strain the mixture. Or, you can use jarred jam, either plain, or doctored with some chopped fresh lemon verbena, and a squeeze of lemon juice if it’s on the sweet side.
Then, as a garnish, I scattered sliced almonds on top. They make the tart crunchier and even prettier, without adding more work — in keeping with the spirit of this lovely dessert.
BLACKBERRY JAM CROSTATA
Yield: 8 servings Total time: 1 ¾ hours, plus chilling FOR THE FILLING
3 cups (340 grams)
blackberries
1 cup (125 grams) blueberries ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated
sugar, plus more as needed 2 teaspoons minced fresh
lemon verbena (optional) 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice,
plus more as needed ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds Demerara sugar, for sprinkling FOR THE CRUST
1-½ cups (190 grams) allpurpose flour
¾ cup (95 grams) whole-wheat
flour
12 tablespoons (170 grams) unsalted butter (1-½ sticks), softened
½ cup (100 grams) granulated
sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room
temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated
lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon fine sea salt ¼ teaspoon almond extract
1. Make the jam: In a medium saucepan, stir together blackberries, blueberries, sugar and lemon verbena, if using. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the mixture starts to bubble and reduce.
2. When mixture has reduced and looks syrupy (about 30 minutes total), stir in lemon juice and zest. Taste and add sugar if necessary. (This depends on how sweet your berries were to begin with.) Cook for 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When the jam is thickened and shiny but still slightly runnier than you expect jam to be, take it off the heat; it will continue to thicken as it cools.
3. Scrape jam into a bowl or heatproof container, stir in vanilla and let cool to room temperature. Taste and stir in a little more lemon juice if the jam seems very sweet. At this point, the cooled jam can be chilled for up to 1 week.
4. Make the dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, and set aside. In a second bowl and using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and almond extract until combined, then beat in flour mixture.
5. Scoop ½ cup of the dough into a bowl or container, cover and chill. Transfer remaining dough to a 9- or 10-inch tart pan and use floured fingers to press evenly into bottom and sides. Chill crust in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
6. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread jam evenly into crust, then using your fingers, crumble reserved ½ cup dough over jam. Sprinkle with almonds and Demerara sugar.
7. Bake until golden, 38 to 48 minutes. Let cool completely to room temperature before serving.