|
| |
Peach Tart
Recipe
|
Printer Friendly Page |
|
A Peach Tart is the perfect
combination of buttery crisp pastry and sweet juicy peaches. This is a
great way to celebrate peaches at their prime, as it simply places wedges,
lightly salted and sweetened with sugar, on a platform of pastry. The
peaches are not peeled for this rustic European dessert, so we get to
appreciate the peach's soft and velvety skin as well as its summery sweet
yet tangy flesh. This
tart looks lovely when pulled from the oven, with its pastry all brown and
crisp, and the peaches all soft and sweet, with lightly caramelized edges.
Excellent served warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. This recipe
is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks The Zuni Cafe Cookbook
by Judy Rodgers.
The pastry used for this peach tart
is Pate
Brisee, pronounced
'paht bree-ZAY' which is a French short crust pastry dough made from a
mixture of flour, a little sugar, salt, butter, and ice water. It has a
high ratio of fat to flour which gives the pastry its crisp and crumbly texture and
buttery flavor. It is the perfect backdrop for fresh fruit at its prime.
Since this peach tart is best served within an hour after it is baked,
planning is needed. On the morning of the day I will be serving this tart,
I like to make the pastry, chill it, and roll it into a large square. I
then place the square of pastry on a parchment lined baking sheet and
return it to the refrigerator. Since it takes anywhere from 35 to 45
minutes for this tart to bake, a couple of hours before I want to serve
this peach tart, I cut the peaches into slices, adding both salt (to bring
out and heighten the peach's flavor) and sugar (to sweeten the peaches),
and arrange them on the pastry. It looks wonderful when pulled from the
oven. The pastry has become brown and crisp, and the peaches have released
their juices and become soft with slightly caramelized edges. While at its
best served within a few hours of baking, leftovers can be covered and
refrigerated overnight. Just reheat before serving.
Peaches are the focus of this tart, so we
need to talk about this lovely fruit.
There are two types of peaches,
'Clingstone' and 'Freestone', with many varieties within each
classification. The names (Clingstone and Freestone) refer to how easily
the flesh of the peach separates from its stone. The Clingstone (available
in late spring/early summer), is exactly that, the flesh clings stubbornly
to the central stone or pit. Freestones (available late summer) have a
flesh that is easily separated from the stone.
For this
tart I prefer the Freestone variety (either white or yellow flesh), which
makes cutting the peach into slices very easy. I do not peel the peaches
as I think the skin looks nice and adds both texture and flavor. What is
important is that the peach be of high quality. When buying peaches, smell
and feel each peach. The peaches should smell of peaches and feel firm,
yet have a slight give when you press gently on its shoulders. Make sure
there are no bruises, cuts, or soft patches on the peaches. To read more
on peaches click here. Another great peach
recipe to try is a Peach Cobbler (recipe here). |
| |
|
Short Crust
Pastry: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process
until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse
meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/8 cup (30 ml) water in a slow, steady stream
through the feed tube until the pastry just holds together when pinched. Add
remaining water, if necessary. Do not process more than about 30 seconds.
Turn the pastry out onto your
work surface, gather it into a ball,
cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour to
chill the butter and allow the gluten in the flour to relax.
Once the pastry has
chilled, remove from refrigerator and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll
the pastry into a 14 inch (35 cm) square.
To prevent the pastry from sticking to the counter and to ensure uniform
thickness, keep lifting up and turning the pastry a quarter turn as you roll
(always roll from the center of the pastry outwards to get uniform thickness).
Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover and place in
the refrigerator while you slice the peaches.
Peach Filling: Wash and rub the peaches to remove any fuzz. Cut the peach
following the suture from stem to blossom end and then up the opposite side.
Gently twist the two halves of the peach and it should easily separate. Remove
the seed and cut into 3/4 - 1 inch (2.5 cm) slices. You will need about 4 cups
(1 pound) (454 grams) of sliced peaches. Place the peach slices in a large bowl
and season with a pinch of salt. Then add about 3 to 4 tablespoons (30 - 40
grams) of granulated white sugar, or to taste. Arrange peach slices randomly on
the pastry, leaving about a two inch (5 cm) wide border. Scrape any remaining
sugar from the bowl and sprinkle over the peaches. Gently fold the edges of the
pastry up and over the peaches, pleating as necessary. Make sure to seal any
cracks in the pastry.
Bake the tart in a preheated
425 degree F (218 degree C) oven for about 35-45 minutes or until the pastry is
golden brown. Reduce heat by 25 degrees (4 degree C) if the pastry starts to
burn. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Best served warm,
within an hour of baking, with vanilla ice cream.
Makes one - 12 inch
(30 cm) tart.
Sources:
Rodgers, Judy.
The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. W.W. Norton & Company. New York: 2002.
Waters, Alice.
Chez Panisse Fruit. Harper Collins Publishers. New York: 2002. |
|
Short Crust Pastry:
1 1/4 cups (175 grams)
all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 tablespoon (14 grams) granulated
white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams)
unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces
1/8 to 1/4 cup (30 - 60 ml) ice
water
Peach Filling:
about 1 1/2 pounds (680
grams) fresh ripe peaches
2-3 tablespoons (30-40
grams) granulated white sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher
salt
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Page loading ... Please wait.
