strawberry tart

My kitchen smelled like strawberry jam after making this tart. Who wouldn’t like that? That’s almost as good as eating it – being surrounded by the perfume of warm, jammy summer fruit as it slowly cooks to oozy deliciousness in the oven.

The only thing that went a leetle bit wonky was the fact that the cut-up fruit leaked a lot of juice while cooking in the oven, meaning that the pieces starting swimming out of the lovely concentric circles I’d spend ages carefully putting them into.

Strawberry tart - uncooked

Still tasted great though…

Strawberry galette from Martha Stewart Living Magazine (no. 174)

Serves 6 to 8 people

You’ll need:

For the dough:

2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the surface
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup plus two tablespoons ice water

For the galette:

1 pound strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces

1. Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add ice water and pulse until just combined (the dough will still be crumbly). Shape dough into a disk, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas Mark 4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out a 10-inch round and transfer to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Cut the strawberries lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Reserve end pieces for another use.* Toss slices with 1/4 cup of sugar and the cornstarch and immediately arrange them in concentric circles on the dough. Start 1 inch from the edge, overlapping slices slightly. Fold the edge of the dough over the fruit. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

4. Whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Dot berries with the butter. Bake until the crust is golden brown – 40 to 45 minutes.

5. Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm with cream or icecream.

Cook’s notes

* Leftover strawberries ends – I snarfed some immediately and added the rest to a smoothie.

I had a lot of leftover pastry, so I’ve frozen it for another time, but you could make some mini-galettes with the strawberry ends and other summer fruits.

The dough was a little thick for me, but I guess it’s supposed to be quite a robust tart.   

Martha suggested pairing this up with a basil cream but I’ve got strong memories of a truly sick-making basil icecream I tried in a restaurant a while ago, so that was a total non-starter.

I keep wanting to write a larger piece about Martha but my brain is noodled at the moment.