Fresh strawberry pie is one of my husband’s favorite pies.
Recently I saw a recipe for a strawberry pie in the New York Times digital cooking column.
The filling is made with fresh strawberries and some strawberry preserves. Looking at those glistening ruby red sweet berries you just know it’s going to be good! And now is the time when the strawberries are at their peak.
I decided to make it as a tart instead of a pie and use my favorite homemade cookie crust to hold all those luscious looking sweet strawberries.
And the only thing you are baking is the cookie crust!
Fresh Strawberry Tart ( adapted from Fresh Strawberry Pie, NYT Cooking)
Cookie Crust (Rustic Meyer Lemon Tart, Martha Stewart)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
Salt
¼ teaspoon finely grated Meyer lemon zest
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
The Filling
2 ½ pound strawberries (about 8 to 10 cups), hulled
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons god strawberry preserves (I like Bonne Maman)
¼ cup cornstarch
Pinch of Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
The Topping
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation
Make the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Whisk together flour, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and the lemon zest in a large bowl.
Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers until dough begins to hold together.
Stir together 1 tablespoon water and vanilla, then mix into the dough.
Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Using your fingers, press dough evenly into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
Note: you may want to make 1 and ½ times the dough recipe to have ample pastry to cover your pan depending its’ size. ( I will next time so it completely covers the sides of the pan).
Freeze for 30 minutes
Bake tart shell until golden, about 25 minutes.
Let cool completely.
Meanwhile make the filling:
Cut each of the strawberries in quarters or eighths, if they are large.
Transfer 2 cups berries to a small saucepan and crush completely with a potato masher. Set aside the remaining berries in a large bowl.
Add the sugar, preserves, cornstarch, 1 tablespoon water and salt to the saucepan.
Bring strawberry mixture to a boil over medium heat and then cook it an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add strawberry mixture and lemon juice to the strawberries in the bowl and stir to combine.
Transfer to the prepared crust and gently tap it down into an even layer. Transfer to the fridge to set for at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, whip cream, confectioner’s sugar and vanilla, to soft peaks. Top tart with whipped cream.
So delicious!