Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata for Two

It’s officially rhubarb season. Since strawberry rhubarb is one of my favorite dessert flavors, I wanted to celebrate by making a date night dessert. I love the sharp pucker of rhubarb combined with the fragrant sweetness of the strawberries. When baked, both fruits collapse into a jammy softness.

As I researched, my key requirements for this dessert were that it would feel a little special and bring “date night dessert” vibes without taking days for us to finish. Most desserts in cookbooks and blogs are meant for groups, not for couples. In many cases, it’s hard to adapt recipes because of the lack of an appropriately sized pan or a hard-to-split ingredient (read: egg) for the lazy like myself.

I found a solution to my cravings after flipping through my copy of Cucina Simpatica: Robust Trattoria Cooking From Al Forno. The Providence based Al Forno is one of my husband and my favorite Italian restaurants. When we are staying at my parents’ place in Massachusetts, we will drive an hour from my parents’ place to eat their delicious food. The restaurant is known for its grilled pizzas, baked pasta and their seasonal fruit crostatas for two. At the restaurant, you must request the crostatas at least 20 minutes in advance as they are baked to order. However, they are completely worth the wait. In the dessert introduction of the book, there was a one line suggestion on the loveliness of a rhubarb crostata which was enough to kick off the idea for this recipe.

This crostata (sometimes also called a galette) is a hand-shaped open-faced rustic tart containing a filling. Since crostatas bake on a baking sheet and are egg free (unless you use egg for a wash on the crust), they are very easy to scale up or down.

Making the Crostata Crust in a Food Processor

Making shortcrust pastry the classical way can be stressful with all its insistence on keeping the fat cold and minimizing handling. The first time I tried to make this dough, I made an absolute mess dumping the dough crumbs from the food processer onto a surface and smooshing them into a disk. What I’ve learned is that when I have more time and headspace, I am better at tolerating the exacting recipes required to create the epitome of a dish but most days, I want something easier.

So here’s my take at a simpler, less stressful recipe that still makes something amazing. I’ve made a few adaptations to the Al Forno so the crust can be made entirely in the food processor.

I start by cutting the butter into approximately 1/2 inch cubes, keeping the butter refrigerated except when I’m actively working with it.

Pulse the butter with flour and sugar in the food processor until it makes coarse crumbs. Then, make a cup of ice water and then using a teaspoon measure, I drizzle ice water into the bowl of the food processor. I then pulse the mixture until it coalesces into a ball of dough, adding a little more ice water if necessary. Once finished, I cover the dough (or wrap it if I’m chilling it for longer) and put it into the fridge for chilling until I’m ready to use it.

Assembling the Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata

I start by prepping the filling – mixing the fruit with the sugar. Then, I tear off a piece of parchment paper that will play double duty for both rolling and baking. I take the dough out of the fridge, press it dough ball into a disk and roll it to a thickness of 1/4 inch.

I mound the fruit mixture into the center of the crostata leaving about an inch at the edges. I fold the edges over the fruit, attempting to make it look artful. Then I pick up the crostata and parchment paper and plonk it onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch the juices in case it leaks. Then it’s off to an oven to bake for 25 minutes. As you assemble and bake the crostata, remember that any cracks in the crust or leaks from juicy fruit can simply be considered part of crostata’s rustic charm.

Accompanying the Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata: Shrikhand Creme Fraiche

I usually like a creamy side to accompany a hot dessert. I am not picky – it can be vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, creme anglaise – you name it. if you’re like me and want something creative to zhuzh it up event more, consider making my shrikhand creme fraiche which is flavored with saffron, cardamom and chopped pistachios. It is richly flavored and stands up nicely as an accompaniment to the rhubarb. Of course, vanilla ice cream would be delightful as well.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata for Two

Recipe by Preeyanka

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Ingredients

• Food Processor Pastry

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 4 Tbs butter, chilled

• 1 Tbs sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 2-3 tsps ice water

• Filling

• 2/3 cup, strawberry sliced, 1/4 in wide

• 2/3 cup, rhubarb sliced on the bias, 1/4 in wide (about 1 stalk)

• 1.5 Tbs sugar plus 1 tsp for sprinkling

• Milk, Cream or Egg (optional) to wash your crust.

Directions

• Make the shortcrust pastry for the crostata crust
• Cut the stick of butter into 1/2 inch cubes. Keep it chilled except when actively working with it
• In a food processor, using the regular blade attachment, pulse the butter cubes with the flour and sugar for the crostata crust until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add 2 tsp of ice water to the mixture and pulse for 20-30 seconds. Add another teaspoon of water if necessary and continue pulsing for another 20 seconds. You want to get the mixture to coalesce into a ball of dough while minimizing how much you work the dough.
• Press the dough into a disk shape and put back into the fridge for chilling. If you are going to bake the crostata imminently, I’d simply put it in a covered bowl but if I’m baking later in the day, I’d wrap it in plastic wrap.
• Assemble the crostata
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a bowl, toss the strawberry, rhubarb and 1.5 Tbs sugar together.
• Once the oven has come to temperature, remove the crostata dough from the fridge. You want to get it from fridge to oven as quickly as possible. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough to the thickness of ~1/4 inch thick.
• Sprinkle 1/2 tsp sugar on the crust except for a 1 in rim. Mound fruit filling in the center of the dough round leaving 1 in of dough on the outside uncovered. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tsp sugar on the fruit. Gently fold the exposed dough over the filling, pleating decoratively. If the dough cracks, use your fingers to patch it back up – your main goal is to avoid juice leakage. Transfer the crostata, atop the parchment paper, onto a rimmed baking sheet.
• (Optional) To give your crostata a shine, brush the crust with milk, cream or egg wash depending on your preferences and ingredient availability. Personally, if I were making a single tart in a rush, I probably wouldn’t make an egg wash although it will give a nicer shine if you have the extra couple minutes.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve immediately with accompaniments of your choice.

Notes

• You can easily double the recipe. Depending on the size of your food processor, you may need to make the dough in batches.
• Feel free to riff with whatever seasonal fruit you have. If it’s not a tart fruit, consider adding a squeeze of lemon and cutting back on sugar.