Recipe - Crostata Di Fragole

PASTA FROLLA ALLE MANDORLE

SWEET DOUGH W/ALMONDS
1 One fourth cup Allpurpose flour
One half cup Ground blanched almonds
One fourth cup Sugar
1 pn Salt
5 tablespoon Cold unsalted butter
1 Egg

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES
3 pt Ripe strawberries
2 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
One half cup Strawberry jam
Confectioners' sugar
for finishing

Use a sharp knife to cut the crostata to keep the berries from toppling and
lessening the elegant symmetry of the dessert.

FOR THE PASTA FROLLA: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Rub in the butter until it is absorbed. Make sure the mixture remains cool
and powdery and does not become pasty. Beat the egg and stir in with a
fork. Continue stirring until the dough holds together, then knead it
smooth, briefly. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at
least 1 hour, or until firm.

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES: Rinse and hull berries. Choose the best ones to
border the tart (draw a 9inch circle on wax paper and arrange berries
inside to see how many you need). Slice remaining berries into a bowl; add
sugar and lemon juice. Toss to combine and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate the cut or sliced up and whole berries until ready to assemble the
crostata. Preheat oven to 350F and set a rack in the middle level. To form
tart base, roll threequarters of the dough on a floured surface to a
9inch disk. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment or buttered
wax paper. Place a 9inch disk, like a spring form bottom, on dough and
trim to a 9inch diameter. Pierce the dough all over with a fork at
1/2inch intervals. Combine the scraps with the remaining dough and roll it
into a thin cylinder, about 30inches long. Moisten the edge of the base
with water and arrange the cylinder of dough on it, to form sides on the
tart shell. Press the cylinder with fingertip to make it adhere and mark a
series of diagonal lines on it with the back of a small knife. Bake about
25 minutes, until the dough is an even golden color and feels firm when
pressed with fingertip. Cool the tart shell on a rack on the pan. Place
cooled shell on a platter. Spread bottom evenly with jam. Arrange a row of
the whole strawberries inside the edge. Drain cut or sliced up berries well; pile in
center. Dust with sugar.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini