Bakewell Tart

sweet pastry...raspberry jam...almond cream...mmm !

Bakewell Tart. No, I'm not singing my own praises...that's the real name of this delicious and oh-so-easy sweet treat. Named after a small town in Derbyshire, England, this is an old-time recipe, for sure...the story goes that in about 1820, a cook at the White Horse Inn in Bakewell was told to make a  pudding with jam and almonds, but accidentally layered it instead of mixing it together. The crowds went wild, and a star was born ! Well...not so fast, maybe. In reality, this sort of tart dates back to medieval times, when almonds and almond-based dishes were extremely popular.

I had actually never heard of this tart (I know, I couldn't believe it either !) until I was surfing the interwebs over the weekend and, as is my wont, checked in on the awesome Smitten Kitchen. SK has this neat little feature where links to the dishes from the past few years around the same date are shown - and it said that two years ago at this time, there was Bakewell Tart. The only "Bakewell" I had ever heard of was Bakewell Cream, which is a special baking power they use in Maine, and I couldn't figure out how the heck you'd make a tart out of that stuff. So I had to click...and once I saw what it was, I knew I had to make it for Mark. Mark is a nut about anything raspberry, and is a big fan of almond pasty-type items too.

SK recipes are always awesome and work perfectly, but I knew I'd be tweaking this one a bit - way more raspberry for the raspberry fiend, a few other tweaks to get the type of almond filling (or frangipane) I wanted...and a much easier tart shell. SK's was based on a Dorie Greenspan recipe, and even Dorie herself says that pressing the tart shell is perfectly fine and less fussy. I don't mind rolling dough, of course...but it cuts way down on the prep time if you can just press it in and avoid all the extra chilling. I promise, it comes out just as good this way...and gets you to the tart-enjoying much quicker :) Don't stress about the tart pan, either...you can actually usually find surprisingly decent ones at a well-stocked supermarket. You could also probably use a springform pan - if that's all you have - instead. The tart pan does make it look all cool and professional, though !

My only regret here is that I didn't photograph along the way...I will definitely be making this again (possibly with a change in jam...blueberry, for me !) and promise more pictures.

Bakewell Tart

Based on a bunch of sources, though mostly Smitten Kitchen :)

1 Super Easy Sweet Tart Shell, partially baked in a 9-inch removable bottom tart pan (at least 2" deep)

1 cup almonds - skinless, and preferably blanched (slivered, chopped, or whole all work)
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Zest of 1 medium lemon
3/4 cup raspberry jam
Slivered or sliced almonds and powdered sugar , for garnish (optional)

If your almonds are not already chopped, chop them well in the food processor. Add flour, and finely grind the mixture. Mix in sugar, then butter, extract and zest. Blend until smooth, then blend in eggs. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least an hour .

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spread jam over base of tart shell. Dollop the almond filling all over, then spread it carefully with an offset or small metal spatula (do not mix into the jam...you're going for layers here). If using slivered or sliced almonds as garnish, sprinkle them over the top. Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

To serve, push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. Cut tart into wedges and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired.

Super Easy Sweet Tart Shell
Makes enough for one 9-inch tart crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (9 tablespoons; 4 1/2 ounces) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, with about half of the egg white separated out (save the white if you are fully baking shell)

Pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in. (You’re looking for some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas.) Stir the egg yolk (just to break it up and mix the bit of white in), and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses–about 10 seconds each–until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds (it will look like wet, clumpy sand). Turn the dough out into the buttered tart pan.

Press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, before baking.

To fully or partially bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375. Prick holes all over the crust with a fork. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. If you have pie weights or beans, use them here as well…just added insurance against it puffing up too much. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil (and weights, if using). If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.

To fully bake the shell, brush with remaining egg white and bake about 10 - 15 minutes longer, or until it is firm and golden brown. To partially bake it, brush with the egg white but only bake an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the crust to room temperature, and proceed with the rest of your recipe

Quickie : Boquitas hash, poached eggs, chipotle hollandaise

A righteous way to start a Sunday :)

Restaurant Review - Paisano's, Waltham MA

Pepe Boquitas

I can't even believe it's taken me this long to get to Paisano's. It's not my fault,  though ! I definitely plan to make up for my neglect in the future.

Paisano's ( http://www.paisanowaltham.com )  opened in 2006, replacing a Southwestern-type place called Buckaroo's (where Steven Tyler was known to breakfast occasionally, back in the day). The menu is billed as "Mexican-Guatemalan", though there are some Salvadoran dishes as well. This place is maybe a half mile from my house, and that's only assuming I don't cut through any yards - we walk right by it on our way to Moody Street (Waltham's "Restaurant Row...how lucky am I that I can walk there ?? ) . When we first moved to the neighborhood many years ago, we used to eat at Buckaroo's occasionally...somehow the quality declined the longer they were there, though, and eventually they closed.

When Paisano's opened, my guys and my inlaws checked it out a few times, and came back with pretty consistent reviews..."that place SUCKS". "McMexican", they called it - bad Mexican fast food. Worse then Taco Bell. So I've stayed away all these years...though on summer walks to Moody Street, I'd look longingly at the outdoor tables, filled with happy smiling margarita people being serenaded by a mariachi band. "Is it really that bad ?" I'd ask...and the answer was always "yes !".

Cut to a few months ago. Mark ended up stopping at Paisano's bar with a friend, and was a little hungry...he decided to be brave, and order ceviche. (That took some balls - I definitely would have not ordered raw seafood at a questionable joint !) . Thinking it would be just a small, so-so bite, he was astounded when he was served a giant, oversized margarita glass, piled high with some really amazing, fresh, absolutely delicious seafood. Paisano's, it seemed, had kicked it up and started making actual food.

Since we've been having summer in March this week in Boston, it seemed a perfect time to do one of our walks to Moody Street....which meant walking right by Paisano's. This time, the happy smiling margarita people won (too early in the year for the band, I guess) , so we took a seat...and I am so, SO glad we did !

We started out, of course, with margaritas :

Black Raspberry and House Margaritas

These were some fine, fine margaritas - plenty strong, and I loved the black raspberry option. House was stock, but good. Chips were hot, salsa was fresh...oh yeah, definitely see more of this in my future.

Next up was the Pepe Boquitas (pictured at top of post). Boquitas are basically a Central-South American version of tapas...little bites to have with drinks. Our super smiley, cute-as-a-button, fantastic waitress warned us that it was huge...we should have listened, as this would have served a few people for dinner. A giant platter, chock full of steak, carne adobada (marinated, grilled meat), grilled chicken, shrimp, cassava, fresh cheese, and fried plantains, garnished with grilled scallions, grilled jalapeno peppers and cilantro. Beautifully seasoned (but not overly so), perfectly cooked, absolutely delicious. We ate a small portion and brought the rest home, and I have to tell you - I am eating a bowl of it now, and it is still awesome. So hard to tear ourselves away, but we had entrees to try - and at this point, based on what we had had so far, we couldn't wait !

Parrillada Chapana 




The entrees did not disappoint. Mark ordered the Parrillada Chapina, which is billed as "the perfect dish if you want to try a variety of Guatemalan flavors". Basically a Guatemalan mixed grill, this one included chicken, carne adovada, churrasco, and chorizo. Garnished with scallions and cilantro, served with fluffy corn tortillas - this was a definite win.           

Enchilada Del Mar

 

My entree - the Enchilada Del Mar - absolutely rocked. Stuffed with shrimp and sauteed onions, peppers and tomatoes, and napped in an utterly amazing chipotle cream sauce. Not a sour cream, but possibly crema-based...whatever it was, it was totally addictive and I could not stop eating it !

This is definitely a place I plan to go back to often - I should add that the prices are super reasonable, at least by our standards :). The only cons would be that if you eat outside, be prepared for a lot of street noise - High Street is a very busy street. It's also across the street from Calvary Cemetery. If those sorts of things bother you,  definitely eat inside (it didn't overly bother us, though). Otherwise, prepare for absolute Culinary Orgasm !