Strawberry Ricotta Crostata
This naturally sweetened crostata is a fun and relaxed take on pie, full of fresh strawberries, creamy ricotta, and brushed with honey.
Servings 8 servings
Calories 375kcal
Ingredients
Crostata Dough
- 1 1/3 cups (6 3/4 oz) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 egg yolk, reserve the egg white
- 3 tbsp whole milk
Crostata Filling
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta, either part skim or whole milk
- 4 tbsp honey, divided
- 1 tbsp lemon zest, divided
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp arrowroot, or cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp almond meal, or breadcrumbs
Instructions
Making and Shaping the Dough
- Mix the dough: Add flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest, and cinnamon to the bowl of a standing mixer.
- Mix on low for 30 seconds. Add butter and mix on low for 2 minutes, the increase the speed to medium for 10 seconds.
- At this point you will have no large pieces of butter and the flour will look like coarse cornmeal. (If not, mix for 30 seconds more on low.)
- Blend together the egg yolk and milk.
- Add the mixture to the dough and mix for 15 seconds, or just until the dough starts to clump together. You can also do this by hand by working the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers and then mixing the egg yolk and milk in with a silicone spatula.
- Form a disc: Flour a board and dump the dough onto it. Using the heel of your hand, push the dough away from you, pressing and smearing it along the board. Then gather the dough up with a bench scraper. Do this a few times to work the dough into a cohesive and pliable mass.
- Then shape the dough into a disc, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
- Heat the oven: When you are ready to make the tart, preheat the oven to 375F.
- Roll out the dough: Then, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and take the dough out of the refrigerator. If the dough has been in for more than an hour, let it sit on the counter until it is pliable and ready to roll.
- Once the dough is ready for rolling, put it on a well floured board, dust the top with flour and roll it out with a floured rolling pin.
- The dough is sticky, so you will want to keep everything floured for easy rolling. Roll out the dough into a 13-14 inch circle. Don't worry about the edges. This is a rustic tart.
- Once you have it rolled out, transfer the dough to the baking sheet and set it aside. Refrigerate the dough if your kitchen is very warm.
Fill and Shape the Tart
- Mix the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, 2 tbsp of honey, and 1/2 tbsp lemon zest.
- In another bowl, toss together the sliced strawberries, 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tbsp lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla, arrowroot, lemon juice. Make sure the arrowroot is fully dissolved and mixed in.
- Shape the tart: Sprinkle the almond meal over the the center of the crostata dough. You will want to spread out the filling over a 9-inch center disc in the dough so you have a few inches to fold over all around.
- Dot the ricotta over the 9-inch disc and then spread it out evenly. Mound the strawberries over the ricotta.
- Then fold the edges over, pleating the dough and patting it into place.
- Pull out the reserved egg white from when you made the dough and brush egg white on the folded over dough.
- Bake the tart: Bake the crostata for 45-50 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown under the crostata and the filling is bubbling. Take the crostata out of the oven and brush the remaining 1 tbsp of honey over the fruit. Allow to cool until warm or room temperature and then cut and serve.
- Take the crostata out of the oven and brush the remaining 1 tbsp of honey over the fruit.
- Allow to cool until warm or room temperature and then cut and serve.
Notes
- Measuring Flour: When measuring by cups, use the dip and sweep method where you dip the cup into the flour and then sweep off the extra. With that method one cup is 5 oz.
- Chilling the Butter: For softer butters (such as grass fed butters), cut up the butter first and put it in the freezer while you measure out the rest of the ingredients for the dough.
- Ricotta: If your ricotta is watery, put it in a fine mesh strainer to drain while the dough is chilling. Most US commercial ricottas have stabilizers and don't need to drain.
- Thickener: I prefer arrowroot for fruit pies since it works better than cornstarch in acidic recipes.
Nutrition
Calories: 375kcal