I love going to the greenmarket, grabbing what looks best and finding a way to bring them together. I went to the green market yesterday and found some ruby pink rhubarb, local honey and local cream, so obviously some sort of pie was in store.
Crostatas are some of my favorite desserts to make. The “rustic” (I love this word) look of it is what I think, makes it so appetizing and beautiful. You just know that it’s homemade and that there is lots of love put into each bite. This crostata dough is very light and flaky and holds up well to the tangy sweetness of the rhubarb and honey.
The pistachios partners so well with the honey and also act like a little bit of a binder for the rhubarb filling.
I can’t wait for you to try this one out….IT’S SO GOOD!
Crostata crust
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter- very cold and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup ice cold water- plus a little extra if it’s not coming together
Directions
1. In a bowl place the flour and the salt- whisk to combine them. Place in the butter and with a butter cutter, cut the butter into the flour. If you don’t have a butter cutter, place in the blender and pulse a couple times until the butter is distributed, it should look sandy.
2. Pour in the water and mix or pulse until it just forms together. Place on a floured surface and using your hands press into a ball. You don’t want to play with it too much so do this just until it all comes together. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
Rhubarb Filling
- 4 rhubarb sticks, cut into 1/3 inch pieces
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup finely chopped pistachios- I blend them
- heavy cream to brush on top of dough
- 2 tablespoons sugar- course or regular
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
- When the dough is chilled, roll out onto a floured surface to ¼ inch thick. Place onto a lines baking tray and sprinkle almost to the end with the crushed pistachios.
- In a bowl mix the rhubarb with the honey and the vanilla. Pour into the middle of the dough. Fold the sides over one another and press down so it is sealed well. Brush with the heavy cream and sprinkle generously with the sugar. I pour it all over the sides and even on top of the rhubarb (I also made a fig crostata as you can see in the pics, just substitute the exact amount of rhubarb with the figs…it’s also DELISH!). Place the tray into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until lightly golden on the outside and bubbling on the inside. Serve warm with the goat, honey lemon cream.
Goat, Honey, lemon cream
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 – 3 tablespoons creamy goat cheese
- 1/3 cup honey, plus more for serving
- 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
Directions
1. In a bowl whisk the cream, once it is almost whipped add in the honey, goat cheese and the zest. Place into a bowl and drizzle over some more honey and sprinkle a little more lemon zest. Serve with the crostata.