Blueberry Crostata

Every year, the night before the first day of school, I make my son's favorite foods for dinner. He always chooses salmon for dinner. And this year, blueberry pie for dessert.

Usually, I take the easy way out and buy blueberry pie from Whole Foods. I say it's because they make a good pie that we all like. But the truth is that pie crust scares me. Cutting the butter until the pieces are just the right size. Not overworking the dough. Rolling it out. And then, somehow getting it into the pie dish.

Then last week the New York Times ran a piece about fruit galette. That's the same as a crostata, which I prefer to call it, because it's sounds more casual and less perfect. The article described the crostata as a good entry point into pie making. You still have to make dough. But you don't have to roll it out perfectly. Or get it into a pie dish. In fact, it's supposed to look rustic (read: messy).

So I set out to make a crostata. On a day that was 90 degrees and humid, no less. It took some time and effort. But it wasn't as hard as I'd imagined. And it turned out even better than the Whole Foods version — tasty, flaky, delicious. And homemade.

Start with the dough. Lightly whisk together the egg and heavy cream.

Then measure the dry ingredients. This recipe gives weights for the dough ingredients. That's a much more accurate way to measure, and it seriously increases the chances of success.

Pulse the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt) in a food processor.

Add cold butter to the food processor and pulse until you have chickpea-size pieces of butter. (The butter pieces will look larger than you expect.) Don’t over process.

Drizzle the egg/cream mixture and lemon juice and zest over the flour/butter mixture. Pulse just until the mixture starts to come together, but stop pulsing before it becomes a big ball of dough.

Put the dough on the counter and shape it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least a couple of hours.

When the dough is done chilling, place it on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Roll it into a 12-inch circle. You should still see large chunks of butter in the dough. The butter will help keep the dough nice and flaky when it bakes. Don’t worry about making it look perfect, anything vaguely resembling a circle is fine. Transfer the dough (with the parchment paper) to a baking sheet and put it back in the fridge while you make the filling.

For the filling, combine the fruit, sugar, lemon juice and zest (if you’re using it) and cornstarch. Yes, that’s it.

Pile the fruit on the dough.

Fold in the edges of the dough. You can try to pleat them to make them look pretty.

Brush the top of the dough with any leftover egg/cream mixture. (I forgot to save the rest of mine so I used an extra egg and some cream for this.) Then sprinkle with sugar. A larger grained sugar like turbinado is nice for sprinkling, if you have it.

Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes. The fruit will bubble and the juices will thicken. And the pastry will be golden brown and beautiful.

Admire your handiwork.

Then dig in. (Around here, we’re partial to pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.)

Blueberry Crostata

Recipe from The New York Times

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 ⅓ cups/165 grams all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp/15 grams sugar

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 large egg

Heavy cream, as needed

1 stick/113 grams unsalted butter, cut into big pieces

2 tsp lemon juice

½ tsp grated lemon zest (optional)

For the filling:

3 cups summer fruit of your choice (berries, stone fruit, figs), sliced or cubed if necessary

½ cup to 3/4 cup/100 to 150 grams sugar, to taste

Pinch of salt

Juice and grated zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)

3 to 4 Tbsp/25 to 35 grams cornstarch

Make the Crust:

1.   In a measuring cup, lightly beat the egg, then add just enough cream to get to 1/3 cup. Lightly whisk the egg and cream together.

2.   In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or in a large bowl, pulse or mix together flour, sugar and salt.

3.   Add butter to flour mixture and pulse or use a pastry cutter or your fingers to break up the butter. If using a food processor, do not over-process; you need chickpea-size chunks of butter. (This is important. You want to be able to see large chunks of butter in the flour.)

4.   Drizzle the egg mixture (up to 1/4 cup) over the dough and pulse or stir until it just starts to come together but is still mostly large crumbs. Mix in lemon juice and zest if using.

5.   Put dough on lightly floured counter and pat it together to make one uniform piece. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days.

6.   Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

7.   Roll the dough out to a 12-inch round (it can be ragged). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and chill while preparing the filling. (I rolled out the dough directly on the parchment paper. That made it easier to transfer to the baking sheet.)

Make the filling:

1.   Toss together fruit, all but a tablespoon of sugar, the salt, the lemon juice and zest, and the cornstarch. Use more cornstarch for juicy stone fruit and less for blueberries, raspberries and figs.

2.   Pile fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently fold the pastry over the fruit, pleating to hold it in (sloppy is fine).

3.   Brush pastry generously with leftover egg and cream mixture. Sprinkle remaining sugar on the crust. (If you have a larger grained sugar, like turbinado, use that for sprinkling.)

4.   Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the filling bubbles up vigorously and the crust is golden.

5.   Cool for at least 20 minutes on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes one 9-inch crostata.

Chilled Roasted Strawberry Soup

I love cold fruit soups in the summer. There's something so fun and expected about them, like having dessert before dinner. What makes them appetizers, though, and not dessert, is that they're not out and out sweet.

The blueberry soup that I wrote about a few years ago (still a regular in our summer rotation) definitely leans more towards sweet than savory, with its strong hit of blueberry and cinnamon undertones. But it's not so sweet that you feel like you're eating blueberry yogurt.

This roasted strawberry soup is even more restrained. I add only a teaspoon or so of sugar. Just enough to cut any tartness in the berries. Roasting the berries intensifies their flavors. The sherry adds a bit of richness. And the yogurt smooths it all out.

Serve this soup very cold, in small clear glasses, with or without spoons. It's a really fun and informal way to kick off a summer meal.

Start with red, ripe strawberries.

Halve berries and toss with sherry.

Spread berries evenly on a large baking sheet.

Roast until the strawberries start to break down and caramelize a little.

Transfer the berries and their juices to a food processor. 

Process until smooth.

Add Greek yogurt to the food processor.

Blend again until well mixed. Thin with water if needed.

Refrigerate the soup until cold. Enjoy!

  

Chilled Roasted Strawberry Soup

Recipe slightly adapted from The View From Great Island

2 pints strawberries

3 Tbsp dry Sherry

16 oz Greek yogurt 

1 Tbsp lemon juice or Sherry vinegar if needed

1.    Set oven to 400F

2.    Wash and trim the strawberries. Cut the larger ones in half. Put them in a bowl and toss with the Sherry.

3.    Spread out the berries in a baking dish big enough for them to be in a single layer. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the strawberries start to break down and caramelize just a little bit.

4.    Scrape the berries and any juice into the bowl of a food processor, and puree.

5.    Add the yogurt to the processor and blend. Add a little water if the soup seems too thick.

6.    Refrigerate until chilled. Taste before serving and add the lemon juice or vinegar if the soup needs a little tang.

7.    Serve very cold, in small glasses or bowls.

Serves 4 to 6

The Best Banana Bread

This is it. The only recipe for banana bread you need. The only one you’ll ever make again. Dense. Moist. Banana Heaven. Go ahead and toss all your other banana bread recipes. 

Then go make this banana bread.  

Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking soda, salt.

Add walnuts and stir to incorporate them.

In a separate bowl, mash bananas. It’s important to use very ripe, darkly speckled bananas to get the best flavor.

To the bananas, add yogurt, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Fold the banana mixture into the flour.

Spread into a nonstick loaf pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the banana bread comes out clean.

Enjoy!

The Best Banana Bread

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated 

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I like 2/3 cup, but my husband prefers it a little sweeter)
3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
3 or 4 very ripe bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1.    Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a nonstick 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2.    Combine first five (flour through walnuts, if using) ingredients together in large bowl; set aside.

3.    Mix mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with wooden spoon in medium bowl.

4.    Lightly fold banana mixture into dry ingredients with rubber spatula until just combined and batter looks thick and chunky. It might look at first like there is too much dry ingredients and not enough liquid, but don’t worry. It will come together, just keep folding gently but consistently.

5.    Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes to an hour. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf.

Strawberry Fool

Some foods are just made for one another. Take seafood and lemon, beef and red wine, pretzels and mustard, chocolate and coffee, tomatoes and basil, even peanut butter and jelly. To those immortal pairs I add strawberries and cream, a combination I come back to time and time again.

You can't run out of ways to enjoy these flavors. It can be as simple as a bowl of fresh strawberries topped with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. You can bake a batch of biscuits and create a strawberry shortcake. Or make a vanilla cheesecake and top with strawberry glaze. Strawberry ice cream and milkshakes do the job too. 

Recently, I learned a new twist on this classic combination. It's a British dessert called strawberry fool. Yes, the name's a bit weird, but it could be worse — Toad in the Hole, Bangers and Mash or Spotted Dick, anyone?

Strawberry fool is similar to strawberry mousse, but it's made without eggs. You simply fold pureed strawberries into sweetened whipped cream. That's it. Just strawberries and cream. A perfect combination.

Finely chop strawberries.

Toss with sugar.

Let strawberries sit until they give up their juices.

Puree half of the strawberries and their juice.

Return puree to the bowl with the chopped strawberries. (You want to leave some chopped strawberries as is to give the dessert some texture.)

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks.

Gently fold the berries into the cream...

... until combined but not overmixed.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Fool

Recipe by Mark Bittman

1 pint strawberries

1/2 cup sugar, divided (adjust depending on the sweetness of your strawberries)

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.    Hull strawberries, then wash them and chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

2.    Toss with half the sugar. Wait 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they give up their juices.

3.    Place half the strawberries and all the juice in a blender. Puree. Pour puree back in bowl with chopped strawberries.

4.    Whip the cream with remaining sugar and vanilla until cream is stiff and holds peaks easily. Gently fold berries and cream together.

5.    Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two hours.

Serves 4

Double Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Confession. These were supposed to be chocolate crepes, not double chocolate crepes. But I got impatient. I melted the chocolate but I didn't wait for it to cool before I added it to the refrigerator-cold crepe batter. Instead of transforming the pale yellow batter to chocolately brown, the melted chocolate froze into tiny little ribbons, like chocolate sprinkles scattered throughout the batter.

It tasted like a chocolate chip crepe. Not bad, by any means. But not what I was after. I wanted a chocolate crepe. So I added some unsweetened cocoa powder, along with a little sugar. Voila! I had chocolate crepes. Well, double chocolate crepes if you want to be finicky.

In truth, the crepes weren't even the point. They were really just a vehicle (a deliciously chocolately vehicle) for the sweet, ripe strawberries that are finally in season. If there's a better combination than chocolate, whipped cream and strawberries, then I don't know what it is.

Crepes are surprisingly easy to make. Combine flour, salt, sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a blender. 

Beat until smooth. Add eggs and melted butter and beat again. Refrigerate mixture for 1 hour.

Melt together chocolate and butter. (I did this in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds).

Stir until chocolate mixture is smooth.

Cool chocolate mixture for 10 minutes (!), then blend into the batter. See following picture for what happens if you don't wait for the chocolate mixture to cool first.

Stir in cocoa powder.

Heat a small skillet and add a little butter. Ladle in a few tablespoons of crepe batter. Yes, just a few tablespoons. Crepes should be thin, not thick like a pancake.

Swirl the pan so the batter just coats the bottom of the pan.

The top will dry out in about a minute.

Flip the crepe and cook the other side until the crepe is just cooked through.

Fold the crepes into quarters and let them rest on a plate while you cook the remaining crepes.

Top with strawberries and freshly whipped cream.

Double Chocolate Crepes with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Loosely based on a recipe by Mark Bittman

1 cup flour

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

2 tsp vanilla extract, divided

2 eggs

2 Tbsp melted and cooled unsalted butter plus 1 tsp unsalted butter plus 4 Tbsp butter

1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar, or to taste

Strawberries, for serving

1.    Combine the flour, salt, sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a blender and beat until smooth. Beat in the eggs and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Refrigerate for 1 hour and beat again.

2.    Melt 1 ounce chocolate with 1 teaspoon butter. To do this, microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Remove from the microwave before the chocolate is completely melted. Then stir until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes.

3.    Thoroughly blend chocolate mixture with the crepe batter. Add cocoa powder. Blend thoroughly.

4.    Heat a small, nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add 1/2 teaspoon of butter. Ladle a few tablespoons of crepe batter into the pan. Swirl the skillet so that the crepe batter coats the bottom of the pan.

5.    When the top of the crepe has just dried out, flip the crepe. Continue to cook for another minute or so, until cooked through.

6.    Fold crepe into quarters and set aside while preparing the remaining crepes.

7.    For whipped cream, beat together heavy cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form.

8.    To serve, top crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.

Serves 4 to 6.