Rustic Tarts a/k/a Crostatas
Lately I’ve been on a rustic tart kick. I started in on it when I was asked if I might be able to do a 20-minute pie session for 80 people. Make a pie in 20 minutes? Are you kidding me? Well, that was my first thought. Then I got to thinking more about it. As this would be more of an experiential thing, crostatas popped into my head. They might just fit the bill. So I got to practicing and timing myself. With already made dough and filling, it works and they are ready to pop into a wood-fired oven.
Rustic Rhuberry Tarts made with Rhubarb and Raspberries and Art of the Pie All Butter Dough
Then I thought…how much fun would this be at a birthday party, a reunion, or a graduation party. With some prep on your part before hand, you can easily make this happen, too. Here’s how.
Rustic Fruit Tarts (a/k/a Crostatas)
- Make dough. (I was able to get 4 crostatas out of one disk of Art of the Pie dough.) Cut one dough disk into 4 pieces and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Once wrapped you can shape the little piece of dough into a mini chubby disk if you like or leave it as a wedge. It’s up to you. 🙂 Chill dough.
- Pre-make some fillings. Directions follow.
- Roll out a piece of dough to about a 7″ diameter and place on a piece of parchment. (You might want to have the parchment already on a baking sheet.)
- Fill with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling and fold up and pleat the edges.
- Repeat with as many crostatas as will fit on the parchment covered baking sheet. I can get about 6 on my quarter size sheet pans.
- Brush with egg white wash and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake at 425F for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and lift the parchment paper with crostatas from the pan and onto a surface to cool. Use a spatula to loosen and lift them from the parchment paper.
- Cool (in oh so many ways!) 😉
Bluebarb Filling made with Blueberries and Rhubarb
Bluebarb Tarts in Art of the Pie Leaf Lard and Butter Dough
Fruit Filling
This recipe makes enough for about 6-7 crostatas. If you have a crowd, you’ll want to make a few batches and have them chilled and ready for the main event.
- Put 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl and with a whisk or fork briskly whisk in 1/4 cup cornstarch. Set aside.
- Put 4 cups of fruit in a heavy saucepan. I used 3 cups rhubarb cut in 1/2 inch pieces, and 1 cup berries.
- To the fruit add 3/4 cup sugar, a pinch of salt, a squeeze lemon, a grating of nutmeg, a splash of orange or other fruit liqueur. Be creative here and use whatever seasonings you like.
- Turn on burner to medium and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cornstarch mixture, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes more while stirring.
- Remove from heat. Turn the filling into a bowl and let cool completely. It takes atleast 40 minutes to chill in my fridge.
Rustic Bluebarb Tart (a/k/a Crostata) in Art of the Pie Leaf Lard and Butter Dough
I love, love rhubarb and raspberries to the point I have not combined it with strawberries since I ‘discovered’ the combination!! So good!
Great minds…and cooks…bake alike!
I made a Rustic Blackberry Tart when Art of the Pie was the featured book in the Food 52 Cookbook Club. It was the first time I made you leaf lard & butter crust – amazing!! The flakiest crust ever. I love making crostatas.
Thank you for your kind words about the crust, Linda! I’m so glad you like it and that it is working for you. Crostatas are sure fun and easy. It was such an honor for Art of the Pie to be the inaugural pick for the Food 52 Cookbook Club!
I am SOOOOOO glad you wrote the blog on CROSTATAS. I had been researching this for the last week or so! I wondered whether to use fresh fruit, frozen fruit or cook the filling first. I ended up using frozen fruit which macerated in sugar. I kept only 3-4 tablespoons of juice for the tart so the crust would not get soggy. It turned out beautifully!
Question regarding RHUBARB: Rhubarb has a skin, which is where the red color comes from. Should you peel it first or leave it? Will the fibrous covering of the rhubarb become tender after cooking? If you peel it, you lose the beautiful red color of the rhubarb.
Thank you so much! Keep the great recipes coming. I learn SO MUCH from you! XOXO
Margaret- I use both frozen and fresh fruit interchangeably. And I’ve also made these little tarts with uncooked fruit much as I would do in a seasonal fruit pie. (See recipe on page 137 in the book.) I don’t worry about peeling much of anything. 🙂 It cooks up just fine with it’s skin. And thank you so much for your kind words! K
I’ve found I need to use more starch when I use frozen fruit. .. at least when making a full sized pie. Do you ever need to adjust when using frozen?
No I haven’t, Kate, especially so if I keep the fruit frozen until I putting the pie in the oven.
One more question. TRULY, is there that much difference in a PIE crust and a TART crust, maybe except for that amount of sugar and proportion of fat to flour? Couldn’t a pie crust recipe (Art of the Pie Recipe) be used for most kinds of non-rising pastry?
Thanks Always!
Margaret A. Gunter
Absolutely it can…well in my humble opinion it can. I use the Traditional Art of the Pie doughs for just about everything both savory and sweet… pies, quiches, tarts, handpies…
You said you got 4 Crostatas out of one disc. Is that a double crust pie recipe disc or two discs that have been divided for a double crust pie?
1 disc = 1/2 double crust pie recipe = 1 single pie crust = 4 crostata doughs rolled out to 7″ each.
I made crostatas yesterday with the basic lard and butter crust and cherry pie filling that I made ahead of time so it was thoroughly cool. Filled the rolled out crusts with 1/3 cup filling and folded the dough over it like in your pictures. Do you have to pinch the crusts pleats together because some of mine flattened out and allowed the filling to run out onto the parchment?
Sometimes they can leak onto the parchment, which is one the biggest reasons why I like to have it on my baking sheet! Try putting in a bit less filling in, say 1/4 cup. Here’s a photo
of one from the batch I made yesterday. I chilled them in the fridge for a few hours before baking. The pleats held their shape nicely.