Recipe- Cherry Crostada

Summer dessert in the middle of October? Yes! Frozen berries- yes, frozen- are terrific quality these days, have you noticed? I could make peach cobbler for NH in January if I wanted.
NH and I had dinner with MIL and FIL (aka Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law) in Walnut Creek on Saturday. Finally we got to taste the very famous paella that FIL makes on the charcoal barbecue outside. As my contribution to dinner I made this dessert. It was quite a culinary adventure, begun in San Mateo and finished in the oven in Walnut Creek. I made the dough at home in the morning. During the hour drive, my dough sat in between the bags of frozen berries to stay cold. I brought along my rolling pin and pie dish, and two little baggies filled with flour, and sugar and cornstarch.
When it came time to assemble and bake, I simply dumped the thawed berries in a bowl with the sugar and cornstarch, gave it a stir, and poured into the pie dish. I then rolled out the dough, put it over the fruit, and baked until it bubbled.
I know it was well-received by NH and FIL, who love cherry desserts. True to form, NH ate the leftovers we took home for breakfast in the morning. :-)



Cherry Crostada

1 cup all-purpose Flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry Flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
zest of 1 Lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons ice water

5 cups (about 30 ounces) frozen cherries, thawed
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons sugar
juice of 1 Lemon

Combine flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahreinheit.

Stir cherries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a 10-inch diameter pie or baking dish. Roll out crust to a 14-inch diameter circle (approximately). Place the crust over the berries, and fold over itself until it fits inside the dish. Cut a 2-inch slit in the center of the dough. Bake until the crust is golden and the berries are bubbly, about 40 minutes.

I realized after that I forgot to cut the 2-inch slit in the dough, which is probably why I had a little berry leakage on one side. I like the color it gave the pie, so I don't mind at all. But you probably don't want any explosions in the oven which is why you do it, so next time I need to remember to cut the slit!