Monday, July 13, 2009

Rustic Plum Tart


For the crust:
1 cup flour,plus a little more for the work surface
1/4 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
(I didn't have unsalted butter so I used regular butter and omitted the 1/2 teas. salt)

For the filling:
1 1/2 lbs of plums, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water (egg wash)


Make the crust: In a food processor , pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Do not over mix.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface; knead once or twice. Flatten dough into a disk; wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Flour a large (about 16 inches long) piece of parchment paper. Place dough on paper. Using your knuckles, press edges of dough so it doesn't crack during rolling. Lightly flour top of dough to prevent sticking; roll out to a 14-inch round. Transfer dough (still on parchment) to prepared baking sheet.
Make the filling and bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Mound plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold border over fruit in a pleated pattern. Brush dough with egg wash. (I then sprinkled a little more sugar on the crust to make it extra yummy)
Bake tart until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (see note), about 45 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a rack; let cool 20 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

FYI - I don't have a food processor so I just used a pastry blender. It worked perfectly!

Note:Filling often bubbles out through small openings in the edge of the crust during baking, so don't worry if a little juice ends up on the baking sheet; line it with foil for easy cleanup.

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