A Delicious if Homely Cherry Crostata by Lucy Burdette #LydiaBastianich

 

LUCY BURDETTE: I saw a recipe for this cherry dessert made by food writer Adam Roberts a month or two ago. He borrowed the recipe from Lydia Bastianich, and I decided I must try it since the cherries have been so good this summer. Mine did not turn out so perfectly cute, and for that I have two theories. As you can see in the photo, the crust unfolded as it baked. Why? Number one, I might have overworked the dough using the food processor. I would consider mixing by hand next time. Number two, after refrigerating the dough for an hour, it was hard to roll thin. Next time I might refrigerate for only 15 minutes, or else let the dough sit out to soften before rolling.

In any case, the cherry crostata aka galette (as the French would call it) was delicious and there were no complaints from my guests!

Ingredients for the dough

One and a half cups all purpose flour plus some for rolling

3 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

6 tablespoons cold water, more as needed.

Ingredients for the cherry filling

One and a half pounds pitted fresh cherries

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 cup Panko

5 tablespoons sugar

One egg, beaten

(I didn’t include the Amarena cherries that Lydia called for)

To make the dough, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter, cut into small pieces, either pulsing briefly with the food processor, or cutting it in with a pastry cutter. Add the cold water, only until the dough comes together . Try not to overwork it! Collect the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For the cherries, these must be pitted. This is the only time consuming part of the recipe and it can be done easily with an inexpensive, six cherry pitter, like the one in the picture. Once all the cherries are pitted, cut half of them in half.

Add the orange juice to the cornstarch and stir in a small bowl. Stir this into the bowl of cherries, along with the zest, the sugar, and the almond extract.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a circle. Sprinkle the interior of the circle with Panko crumbs. Scrape the cherry mixture on top.

Fold the edges of the dough over the cherry mixture. Sprinkle the crumbs on top and if desired, brush the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with more sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes until the crust is golden and the cherries are bubbling. Let the dessert rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Can be served with ice cream or whipped cream, but it stands alone as delicious as well.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join the mailing list here so you don't miss news about the Key West series and Lucy!

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And the trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!