Recipe
Strawberry Jam Crostata
A crisp olive-oil pastry tart filled with strawberry jam and finished with a simple pastry lattice.
Ingredients
Method
25 mins prep35 mins cook60 mins total
Grease a 23cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin with a little olive oil. Heat the oven to 180°C and put a sturdy baking tray inside to heat.
Mix the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk the olive oil, beaten eggs and Marsala in a jug.
Pour the wet mixture into the flour, add the lemon zest and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. Finish bringing it together by hand, wrap and chill for 15 minutes.
Set aside roughly one third of the dough. Roll the rest on a lightly floured surface to about 3mm thick and use it to line the tin, trimming the edge neatly.
Prick the pastry base with a fork and spread the strawberry jam evenly over it.
Roll out the reserved dough to the same thickness and cut about eight strips, each roughly 2cm wide. Lay them across the jam in a lattice and trim away the excess at the edge.
Put the tart on the heated tray and bake for 30-35 minutes, covering the edge loosely with foil if it browns too quickly.
Leave to cool completely in the tin, then dust with icing sugar before serving.
Notes
If the pastry feels sticky, chill it for another 10 minutes rather than adding lots of flour.
A loose-bottomed tin makes the cooled tart much easier to lift out cleanly.
About this recipe
This Italian-style crostata has a tender olive-oil pastry, a generous layer of strawberry jam and a classic lattice top. It is an unfussy bake that looks special on the table without needing complicated pastry work.
Chilling the dough makes it easier to roll and line the tin, while baking the tart on a hot tray helps the base cook through. Cool it fully before dusting with icing sugar and slicing.
