Photography: Martina Gemmola / Styling: Stephanie Stamatis
In winter, it’s easy to long for fruit of the summer past. My answer to this is an open tart, called a crostata, made with whatever jam I happen to have in my cupboard. In this jam crostata recipe, apricot and a layer of ricotta add interest.
Ingredients
Method
1.
To make the pastry, mix the flour and a good pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have mostly pea-sized lumps (a few larger pieces are fine, too). Add the egg, icing sugar and lemon zest and bring the dough together. It will still be shaggy, but should hold together when pressed and not be dry or floury. If it is still not holding together, add 1–2 tablespoons iced water, as needed. Flatten into a thick disc about 10–12cm diameter, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2.
Roll three quarters of the dough on a lightly floured work surface to form a large circle around 3mm thick, massaging the edges as you roll to prevent it cracking too much. Drape the pastry into a 23cm fluted loose-bottom tart tin, pressing the pastry into the tin. Trim off any excess pastry and add to the remaining pastry dough.
3.
Spread the ricotta on the base of the pastry with the back of the spoon. Dollop over the jam and spread to cover the ricotta.
4.
Roll out the remaining pastry on a lightly floured work surface to around 3mm thick. Cut strips of pastry, around 2cm in width, using a fluted pastry cutter. Arrange the strips onto the jam in a criss-cross pattern, weaving the strips as you lay them. Trim any excess pastry and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Whisk the extra egg with 1 teaspoon of water and carefully brush over the pastry strips and edges. Bake the crostata in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the jam is bubbling. Allow crostata to cool completely then remove the tart from the tin and serve.
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