Strawberry Crostata with Balsamic Roasted Strawberries and savory Mascarpone Ice cream
One of the things I love about Italian desserts is that they are not too sweet. In fact, Italians often have cake or sweet breads and crostata for breakfast.This recipe for strawberry crostata is a variation of a recipe in my upcoming book, Cocktail Italiano. The recipe in the book is savory mascarpone ice cream with balsamic roasted grapes. It is a savory version of ice cream, and it works great with a sweet fruit topping for dessert or for aperitivo.I had leftover strawberries from the book photo-shoot and thought roasting them with balsamic vinegar would be terrific. I decided that the mascarpone ice cream would be the perfect complement, and I baked a crostata with some homemade strawberry jam I found in the pantry.Here's the recipe; its a great dessert even without the addition of the Strawberry Crostata.
Strawberry Crostata
Serves 8
You will need:
- 1 1/2 cups pastry flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups cold butter cut into slices
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup strawberry jam
To prepare:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, place flour and butter combine on low speed until crumbs form.Add sugar, salt, and eggs. When combined about 3 minutes, place in plastic wrap and into the refrigerator for 1 hour.Cut the dough in 1/2, roll 1/2 the dough out on a floured surface into a round disk. Place disk into the bottom of a fluted 11" tart pan. Roll the other half and with a pinked pie cutter cut 1" strips.Spread the strawberry jam on top of the crust, then lay the 1 " strips in a lattice pattern on top of the jam.Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Until golden brown. Cool and serve at room temperature.
Balsamic Roasted Strawberries
Serves 8
You will need:
- 4 cups cleaned strawberries
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar- 1/4 cup sugar
To prepare:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
In a bowl toss strawberries, vinegar and sugar. On a parchment lined lipped cookie sheet, place balsamic soaked strawberries. Roast for 30 minutes, then place in a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. This can be served warm over the ice cream.
Savory Mascarpone Ice Cream
Serves 8
You will need:- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp. unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 cups mascarpone
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- ½ teaspoon salt*note if you wish to make this a sweet ice cream add 1/4 cup of sugar to the milk
To prepare:
In a small saucepan, whisk the milk and gelatin and let stand for 5 minutes. Warm the milk over medium heat, whisking until gelatin dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the mascarpone and orange zest until smooth. Pour the ice cream base into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Pour the base into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Scrape the ice cream into a container and freeze. Serve a slice of the crostata with a scoop of ice cream and warmed strawberries. Enjoy xx Top photo credit : Bill Addison