Filling Ingredients:
4 cups pitted fresh
cherries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy
cream for egg wash
2 teaspoons coarse sugar
Directions:
Make the tart dough:
Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in
a food processor and pulse to blend. Add
the butter and pulse until the mixture
forms coarse crumbs. Stir together the
1/4 cup ice water and the vanilla; sprinkle
the water over the mixture in the processor
and pulse just until a dough forms, adding
a little extra ice water if necessary.
Divide the dough in half, and shape each
half into a 1-inch-thick round. Wrap 1
disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate
for at least 1 hour; freeze the other
for a future use.
Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat
the oven to 425ºF for 45 minutes. Remove
the dough from the refrigerator about
15 minutes before rolling to soften it
slightly.
Place
the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment
paper and roll into a 13-inch round, flouring
the round lightly as needed to keep the
dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet
of parchment. Slide a pizza peel or rimless
baking sheet under the bottom sheet of
parchment.
Make
the filling: Combine the cherries, sugar,
flour, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss
well. Fill the center of the dough round
with the cherries in an even layer, leaving
a border of about 1 1/2 inches. Fold the
border up and over the cherries to make
a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then
sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim the excess
parchment with scissors.
Use
the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer
the crostata, still with parchment underneath,
to the oven, sliding it, with the paper,
directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until
the crust is nicely browned and the cherries
are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove
from the oven with the peel or baking
sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes
before serving. Serve warm.
For
best results, Michael Chiarello recommends
using a preheated pizza stone to bake
the Fresh Cherry Crostata.
| 
