Rustic Grape, Blackberry, Ricotta Tart & A Smoothie

Hmmm… what a weird combination for a tart, one might be inclined to think. This tart was inspired by two events. One, was when Nadja of Cause Baking Makes Happy posted a lovely grape, ricotta and thyme tart recipe. We go through grapes here like they are soon going to be extinct or something. Then I found a little tub of gorgeously ripe blackberries at our grocery store. And you might remember how I met and fell in love with ricotta. So, the next logical thing to do would be to bake a tart inspired by Nadja’s recipe.

Just about any fruit will work in this tart. The blackberry season here is almost over and the grapes are unbelievably sweet, juicy and bursting with flavor. It is a rustic tart with rolled-in edges and does not require a pie dish for baking. Shameful admission time, I actually do not own a pie dish yet. Somehow all that rolling out and handling of a delicate crust challenges me. I have an innate fear of fancy-sounding and fancy-looking stuff like meringues, fondant, frosting, and shaping a pie or tart. I am slowly conquering my fears (meringues and frosting, so far), and Nadja’s no-fuss tart recipe sounded perfect.

I followed the original recipe only for the shortcrust pastry, but created a more custard-like filling. I love how the dough could be rolled out and baked in a 9×13 baking tray and I was definitely intrigued by the grapes. Because, we love them here. Oh, did I mention that already?!

RUSTIC GRAPE, BLACKBERRY & RICOTTA CHEESE TART

You will need:

For the shortcrust pastry

• All purpose flour – 2 1/4 cups
• Salt – a pinch
• Cold Butter – 12 tbsp, cubed
• Ice water – 3-4 tbsp

For the tart filling

• Ricotta cheese – 1 cup
• Egg – 1
• Sugar – 6 tbsp
• Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
• Grapes and blackberries – a handful each
• Powdered sugar – for dusting

How to:

• To make the pastry, combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the cold cubes of butter and combine till it resembles a crumbly mixture. Mix thoroughly to coat all the flour with the butter, but use a light hand as you do not want to activate the gluten much. Add a tablespoon of ice-cold water at a time, till the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly. Make into a ball, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F.
• Once sufficiently chilled, roll out the dough on a floured surface to a rectangle approximately 11″x15″. Place the rolled-out crust carefully on to a buttered 9″x13″ baking tray, brush lightly with a beaten egg and fold in the edges. You may not use up all of the egg, reserve the rest for the filling.
• To make the filling, whisk together the ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, sugar and the leftover egg in a bowl. Spread the filling over the tart crust.
• Lightly mash a few blackberries, slice the grapes in halves and arrange over the filling. Use as much fruit as you desire.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes or till the filling is lightly springy.
• Cool slightly in pan , dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

I loved the light, buttery crust. And the ricotta cheese filling is delicious yet light. I may or may not have had more slices than I probably should!

I also made a pomegranate and blackberry smoothie to go with it. The recipe follows.

POMEGRANATE & BLACKBERRY SMOOTHIE

You will need:

• Pomegranate – 1, large
• Blackberries – a small handful
• Milk – 1 cup
• Sugar – 2 tbsp or as per taste (depending on the sweetness of the fruits)
• Water

How to:

• De-seed the pomegranate. Blend the fruits, milk and sugar together. Add some water to thin the smoothie to desired consistency.
• Strain to remove the pomegranate seeds.
• Serve chilled, preferably in a glass jar, because everything looks and tastes better in a jar!

Thanks Nadja for the tart inspiration. The grapes were absolutely amazing once baked. Who knew?!!

I need a lot of practice to bake a perfect tart, but this was a nice starting point. And since this is a tart, the filling can be customized to suit your taste. Just sprinkle some ricotta, sugar and fruits like in the original recipe or make a creamy filling like I did.

You may also like this delicious Apple Crumble, another rustic Fall recipe.

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