Rustic fig jam crostata
(Rustic Italian style jam tart)
When I was a child, desserts after the main meal were more of a weekend treat, and it is when my mum would bake.
And there is one simple dish she always baked in our household, and that is a jam tart or simply crostata as we call it in Italian. It is made using Italian style sweet shortcrust pastry that is enriched with eggs, which help make the dough even flakier, lemon zest, sugar, and baking powder. It is still very popular to bake at home and easily available in bakery shop and supermarkets.
My mum would use different fruit jams that she made using a variety of fruits in the season from our orchard or fruit given by friends or neighbours. Most commonly used type of jam to fill the crostata with would be the apricot jam. Crostata can be also filled with ricotta, Nutella, pastry cream and fresh fruit.
This year we had a brilliant year for figs and they were in abundance in my grandma's back garden. Most were eaten just picked directly from the tree, how luxurious. But there were just so many figs and since nothing gets ever wasted, we made a lot of jam!
There is something so comforting and homely about jam crostata, with a delicate flake crust, filled with your favourite choice of jam. Simply delicious, just melts into your mouth, and most importantly, it is easy to make, and the aroma during the baking is unmistakable.
Crostata is also great for colder days, as a dessert or snack, and is commonly served for breakfast too.
Nice accompanied with cream, vanilla ice-cream or natural Greek yogurt, just to tone down a bit the sweetness of the the fig jam.
Ingredients
250g all purpose flour
105g diced butter, room temperature
1 egg and 1 egg yolk (slightly beaten), keep the egg white for brushing the crostata just before putting it in the oven for baking
50g caster sugar (optional if you use fig jam as it is quite sweet already)
lemon zest of one small unwaxed lemon, finely grated
1 Tsp of liquor like grappa or rum (I used rum)
¼ Tsp baking powder
jar of fig jam or any other jam of your choice, home made or a good quality one from the food store
Method
To make the pastry, measure the flour into a large bowl and add the butter.
Using just your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre of the flour, then add the sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, liquor, and baking powder. First stir gently with the fork to combine all the ingredients and for the mixture to come together.
Gently gather the dough together with your hands and transfer it onto a floured work surface.
Gently press the dough, without kneading it, until it comes together to form a firm ball.
Press the dough into a flat disc, wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for about 30min.
Preheat the oven to 180C static or equivalent.
Lightly flour the surface and the rolling pin. Take about 2/3 of the pastry and with the rolling pin roll it out on a surface, then roll the pastry back over the rolling pin, so it is hanging, and ease it into the 23cm loose bottom non stick flan tin.
Press the pastry shell into the side of the tin.
Allow the excess to hang over the side and roll the rolling pin over the top of the flan tin, to cut off the excess pastry.
Spoon the jam of your choice into the pastry case.
On a lightly floured surface roll out the remaining pastry, cut it in strips with pastry wheel cutter or with the knife and decorate your tart.
If you happen to have a bit of left pastry, just take your favourite cookie cutter and make few biscuits.
Brush the pastry with a slightly beaten egg white, put it in the oven and bake for 30-40min until nice and golden in colour.
When baked, let it cool in a tin, dust with little icing sugar and serve warm or cold.
Wine suggestion
Verduzzo Friulano Passito DOC 2019 by La Tunella, Colli Orientali del Friuli.