Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam

Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam, a delicious dessert made of a crumbly short pastry topped with a velvety sweet and tart homemade jam. A typical Italian dessert to end a Sunday lunch or dinner. Bonus recipe: Easy  No-Pectin Haskap Jam.

Song of the day: Seven Days – Sting

Until I came to Canada there was no such thing as Sunday supper. Sunday was all about lunch: at my parents, at my grannies, at my place, at friends, at relatives, either we hosted or were the guests, or went out to eat, it was always a Sunday lunch.

And Sunday lunch is a big thing in Italy. It requires a few hours of your time, the sitting time, I mean, and maybe a few stretches of your belt. Buffets are definitely not in the Italian DNA, while multiple courses are. Antipasto, first course, second course and side dish, dessert, fruit, and coffee. With time in between each course, time to converse and drink some wine, digest a bit, and make room for what comes next. With different plates each course, and no, a dishwasher isn’t always in the picture. At my grannies, for example, no dishwasher, and no warm water running from the faucet, and usually, many of us eating, so, yes, lots of dishes to do after. But when the food is also food for the soul, you’re all relaxed and in a good mood, and many of you are sharing the task, it doesn’t seem like work.

Many of those Sunday lunches ended with a homemade crostata, one of the most popular desserts in Central Italy, and definitely among my circle of friends and family. Usually, a crostata with jam, homemade most of the times, or for particular occasions, a crostata with ricotta and chocolate, or with a lemon pastry cream and topped with fresh fruit. [A little Wikipedia etymology: The name derives from the Latin word crustāta, the feminine past participle of crustāre (to encrust), and ultimately from the noun crusta (crust)].

This time, the occasion was to showcase a wonderful homemade jam, that I made with hand-picked haskap berries at the beautiful Rosy Farms, in the outskirts of Edmonton, on a beautiful day, surrounded by passionate people sharing a long table dinner.

Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam: a buttery crumbly short pastry meets a velvety sweet-with-a-bit-of-tart jam.

Making a crostata comes naturally to me. I made it many times and I see myself making it for many years to come. It is probably the sweet I ate the most and that feels like home to me. In this particular case, I felt like being more artistic, and I replaced the usual lattice top with carved and stamped leaves and dots. Sometimes, you just have to let loose and go for it.

And how well it was received, validated my creative spirit.

When I make my crostata with the typical lattice top, people here mistake it for a pie. On the contrary, the pastry is more like a shortbread than a pie crust, a tart, more than a pie, and one that you can hold in your hands and eat it. Our favorite way of eating crostata, a slice in your hand, no cutlery, but so satisfying.

Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam is my way of letting you into my Italian life. Hope you enjoy!

Song of the day: Seven Days – Sting

Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam

• Author: Nicoletta
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 8-10 servings
• Category: Dessert, Cakes
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Italian Crostata with Homemade Haskap Jam, a delicious dessert made of a crumbly short pastry topped with a velvety sweet and tart homemade jam. A typical Italian dessert to end a Sunday lunch or dinner. Bonus recipe: Easy  No-Pectin Haskap Jam.

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Ingredients

• 300 gr (2 cups) flour 00 (or unbleached all-purpose)
• 2 eggs, organic free range
• 90 gr butter, cold, cubed
• 100 gr (1/3 cup) organic cane sugar (or white granulated sugar)
• 1 lemon, the zest
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 medium jam jar (whatever flavor you may like, I used my homemade haskap berry jam)

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Instructions

1. In a food processor, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, butter cubed, and pulse a few times.
2. Add the eggs and the lemon zest. Pulse again, quickly, until it just comes together. Do not overwork so as not to warm the butter.
3. Place it onto a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least half an hour.
4. After that time, remove the pastry dough from the fridge, let it come to room temperature, then cut and set aside a little piece of the dough, less than a 1/4, that you will need for the decorative top.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 4 mm thickness. It is a sticky dough, so you need to flour the top and bottom (but not too much, or it will toughen the pastry), or you could roll the dough in between 2 parchment sheets to prevent the dough to sticking to the rolling pin.
6. Place the round of dough into a tart pan with a removable bottom (11-inch/28cm), cut excess dough on the edges (add it to the 1/4 that you have already set aside) and prick the bottom with a fork. Then, spread the jam on top. I used my homemade haskap berry jam.
7. Roll out the rest of the dough set aside. With a cookie cutter in the shape of a leaf or any other shape you like, cut shapes, and arrange them on top of the jam creating a design.
8. Bake the crostata at 350°F  (180°C) for about 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
9. Allow to cool a bit, remove from the tart pan and serve in slices.

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Notes

In Italy, Crostata is usually made with a jam that is not overly sweet but instead has a nice acidity to counterbalance the buttery crust.

Easy, No-Pectin Haskap berry Jam

My preferred way of making preserves: fruit, sugar, lemon juice. That’s all. No pectin, or other weird ingredients in my jams.

Easy to make, jams are such a great way to enjoy fresh seasonal fruits all year round. To have on toast, to top your crostata, yogurt, or any other way your heart desires.

Easy No-Pectin Haskap Jam

• Author: Nicoletta
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4 jars
• Category: Canning, Preserving
• Method: Stove top
• Cuisine: North American

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Ingredients

• 4 cups haskap berries
• a handful of wild raspberries
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• the juice of 1/2 organic lemon

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Instructions

1. Put the empty jars in a canning kettle and cover with water. Turn on the burner and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10 minutes. Then, place the jars and lids on a baking sheet in the oven at 200° F to dry. Leave them in the oven until you need them.
2. Wash the haskaps and raspberries, and pick out any bad ones.
3. Put the berries in a saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until the sugar is dissolved. Keep at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally, and skimming off any scum that forms on the surface.
4. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens.
5. Ladle into the hot jars, wipe the rim and seal tight with the lids.
6. Return the sealed jars to the boiling water bath, and boil for 10 minutes. Take out of the water, let cool at room temperature, then label them, adding the month and year of production.
7. Store in a cool, dark place, but once opened, keep in the fridge.

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Notes

Haskap berries have an odd shape, oblong, almost like a lima bean.  Some varieties are very tart, other sweeter, some are smaller, some bigger. Once cooked they are so sweet and flavorful, for my taste, a combination of raspberry, blackberry, Saskatoon, and blueberry all into one.  As Loreto would say, a very intense raspberry/blueberry flavor.