This tart is at its most delicious while still warm, while the pastry is supple and the chocolate still melting.
Ingredients
—50g (less then 2 ounces) golden sultanas or raisins 125g (¾ cup) glacé fruits (include something tangy such as tangelo or orange peel) 60ml (4 Tbsp) dry Marsala 400g (about 14 ounces) sweet shortcrust pastry (ready-made for ease) 400g (about 14 ounces) ricotta 50g (about ¼ cup) caster (superfine granulated) sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 3 small eggs 50g (less than 2 ounces) dark chocolate (do not use sweet chocolate), roughly chopped Finely grated zest 1 lemon
Method
—1 Put the raisins and coarsely chopped glacé fruits in a bowl and pour on the Marsala. Soak for 1 hour.
2 Roll out pastry thinly and line into a 21” (8½”) flan ring or loose-bottomed tin. Lightly prick the pastry, then chill. Gently knead any pastry scraps together and roll out thinly. Chill, then cut into long strips. Keep chilled until required.
3 When pastry is firm, about 40 minutes, line it with baking (parchment) paper and fill with baking beans. Have oven preheated to 180°C (350°F). Bake pastry for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and lift off beans in the paper. Cool pastry.
4 Pass ricotta cheese through a sieve into a large bowl and beat in sugar. Add one whole yolk and 2 egg yolks and beat together for a minute or two; reserve some egg white for brushing pastry. Mix in chocolate and lemon zest, and lastly the fruit and Marsala. Tip filling into pastry case.
5 Lay strips of pastry on top in a lattice pattern, sticking them to the pastry edge with a dab of cold water. Lightly beat a little egg white with a fork until fluffy then brush over the pastry strips and edge. Sift over a little caster sugar.
6 Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Cool briefly, then remove from the tin and cool.
Sicilian Crostata
Recipe notes
It was one of those days … I decided to make this tart and went shopping for the ricotta, knowing I had the glacé fruits and Marsala. The Marsala I had (several bottles, in fact, ‘cos I LOVE it!), but I couldn’t find the glacé fruits. Then I remembered, of course, they were in Auckland. This is the curse of cooking in two kitchens – you see things in the fridge, go to get them, but they in the fridge in the other house. I had to improvise. I used half a cup of pale sultanas, 3 chopped dried figs and 3 cubes of chopped crystallised ginger. I rattled through the cupboards and found sour cherries, which I have too say, was an inspired choice. They were delicious and hard to stop nibbling on. So, 2 tablespoons of sour cherries, oh, and the grated zest of a mandarin simply because it was within arm’s reach. The result? Quite possibly better than the original!
Leave a Reply