The earliest of this summer’s peaches, a delicious almond filling and the tenderest of crusts. Today on Chewing The Fat.
Andrew is back to baking and you’ll be so glad he is. This great recipe appeared on Food 52.com attributed to one “Kukla”. Its roots are a recipe for Pear and Almond Tart from Dorie Greenspan. What “Kukla” did was swap out poached pears for blanched peaches. The peaches held their shape beautifully as you can see. What you can’t see is the extra almond and vanilla used to ramp up the almond flavor. “Kukla” went on to say if the fruits are out of season, you can use well-drained canned peaches—which cuts down on prep time too. As to the crust, you can swap out the almonds for “walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios or pecans”. But “Kukla” doesn’t stop there. Apricots, apples, poached quince, and fresh figs can be used here. Or even Pears as in the original version. This may be the only tart recipe you’ll need all summer.
What is the difference between a pie and a tart?
An actual Magpie Nest. Watch your jewelry!
Bakers likely know but for neophytes and the incorrigibly curious among us… In France “Tartes” translates as both tarts and pie. But in English, pies cover their fillings with pastry while tarts leave it open. The word ‘pie’ may come from the magpie—a bird known for collecting odds and ends in its nests. Medieval pies contained many different meats –chickens, crows, pigeons, and rabbits. Encasing these in pastry made them portable and therefore a staple of working people in Northern Europe. Think “Cornish Pasty”. There was also a class distinction between pies and tarts. About 1550, enriched dough (i.e. shortcrust) came into use to make tarts. Viewed as ‘Haute Cuisine’, they were popular with the nobility, unlike the commoner’s pies. Originally savory with meat fillings, as tastes for sweets grew, they were filled with fruits and custards. Here’s today’s recipe and some other tarts to enjoy.
Peach and Almond Tart from Food 52
June 30, 2022
: 8
: The hardest thing here is cutting those peaches perfectly
The earliest of this summer’s peaches, a delicious almond filling and the tenderest of crusts yours in this Peach and Almond Tart
By: Monte Mathews
Ingredients
For the Crust
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
For the Almond Filling
2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large firm, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
Powdered sugar (optional)
Directions
Step 1To make the crust: Place powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in a bowl of a food processor and pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in egg yolk, and add flour. Pulls until the dough comes together in clumps. Transfer the dough to a board and gather it into a ball then flatten it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Step 2 To make the almond filling: Finely grind almonds and flour in the food processor. Mix in 7 tablespoons sugar, then butter and blend until smooth. Mix in egg, almond, and vanilla extracts. Transfer filling to a medium bowl. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Step 3 Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Roll out chilled dough on a floured sheet of parchment paper to a 12-inch round. Turn out the dough into a 9 or 10- inches diameter tart pan with a removable bottom, using the parchment paper as an aid. If needed, seal any cracks in the dough and then trim the overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang in, making the sides double-thick. Pierce crust all over with a fork and freeze it for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4 Line the crust with buttered parchment paper or foil, buttered side down then fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Return the pan to the oven and bake the crust until the sides are golden and the bottom is set, about 10-12 minutes longer. Cool crust in the pan on a cooling rack.
Step 5 Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Spread almond filling evenly on the bottom of the crust. Cut each half of the peaches crosswise into thin slices, and arrange them on top of the filling in any pattern you like.
Step 6 Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into the center of filling comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in the pan on a rack. When ready to serve, push the pan bottom up, releasing the tart from the pan. Let stand at room temperature. Cut tart into wedges sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.
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Did you know that New York State is the second largest apple producer in the whole country? Only Washington State tops us. Trust a resourceful friend of ours, Wendy Brovetto, native New Yorker and grandchild of an Upstate New York Farm family, to create truly incredible Rustic Apple Jams in 4 extraordinary flavors. When she did, Croton Trading Co. was born.
Wendy explains ”We created our apple jam after one of those overzealous days of apple picking yielded a larger-than-usual haul. With more apples than any family could consume, the experimenting began and gave way to what we think is the perfect blend of apples and cinnamon.”
“We source our apples from local NY Orchards -- Thompson's Orchard in Westchester Co andl Richters Orchard on Long Island. I have a special fondness for these family-owned farms. Richters Orchard was a big part of my childhood, as my sistersand I would go on weekly outings with my dad to stock up on apples and cider"
"We carefully blend different apples to create our flavor profile and find inspiration from seasonal spices to create our Apple Jam”. Wendy proudly states.
Now Croton Trading Company is up to 4 flavors: Fall Harvest Blend, Ginger Pear Fusion, Chai, and Brown Sugar. You can see the whole range here:
Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to put Croton Trading Company’s Apple Jam to work making our Skillet Apple Pork Chops. This one-pot recipe is perfect for weeknights but so good you may want to serve to company. The chops finish cooking in Croton Trading’s Apple Jam and we always serve it on the side to give even more great apple taste to the dish. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (6-oz.) bone-in pork chops
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
½ cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 cup Croton Trading Rustic Apple Jam (we used Ginger Pear)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 small red onion, thinly vertically sliced
Chopped Parsley for garnish.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle pork chops evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and 3/8 teaspoon pepper. Add pork chops to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until pork chops beautifully browned. Remove from pan. Set aside pan and drippings.
In a small bowl, combine stock and Croton Trading Apple Jam, stirring with a whisk. Set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan with drippings, swirl. Add remaining 3/8 teaspoon salt, remaining 3/8 teaspoon pepper, sage, rosemary, and onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in stock mixture. Return pork chops to pan; cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Plate each chop individually. Top with chopped parsley as a garnish. Serve with plenty of Croton Trading Apple Jam on the side.
The earliest of this summer’s peaches, a delicious almond filling and the tenderest of crusts. Today on Chewing The Fat. 
