Strawberry Canela Tart with Toasted Walnuts

So we went picking. It rained the whole time. This was not the strawberry picking of Junes passed with the summer sun beating down on our backs, sweat beading at our temples, and the fields bathed in the scent of ripe berries. This was the perfect storm. With fruit.

Imagine our motley trio knee-deep in soggy berry plants, in an unseasonable 55F, with torrential downpours putting our cardboard berry flats to shame. We were pathetic: shivering in our farm clothes, crying about mashed berries left to drown, condemning our need to make strawberry-based products at f + k (along with whoever had the idea to hand-harvest all the berries *cough* me *cough*).

It was worth it though. We got a nice haul and spent the next day in the kitchen cranking out strawberry-rose syrup, strawberry balsamic preserves, and preserved whole berries and ginger in syrup. Check them out here later today!

With some of the berries that survived the kitchen I made a tart—not one gleaming with fruit and topped with cream, but one baked with toasted walnuts, whole wheat flour, and canela. A little something to battle the strange, chilly weather we have had up here in Boston this past week. For those who are not familiar with it, canela is known as Ceylon cinnamon. This is the “true” cinnamon plant, unlike what most of us use every day which is actually cassia, a plant which tastes more like cinnamon than cinnamon does (once you try them both you will find that cassia is also more bitter). Canela works perfectly with strawberries as it doesn’t scream FALL! like cassia, instead lending a homey warmth to whatever it is combined with.

Strawberry Canela Tart with Toasted Walnuts

crust:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2-3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
½ cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons canela
1 cup thimble-sized strawberries, hulled or 8-9 large strawberries hulled and halved

Mix the flours, sugar and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, stop when mixture just begins to hold together. Wrap the dough in wax paper or parchment and refrigerate until firm.

Roll dough out to 1/8-inch thick on a floured surface to fit the tart pan you are using. Trim edges of the dough by holding a knife against the pan and pulling gently, horizontally, along the pan’s edge. Chill the dough and pan again until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Poke bottom of tart all over with a fork and fill with pie weights or dried beans in foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the weights or beans and bake for another 5 minutes or so—enough to dry any remaining moist dough. Remove and let cool before filling.

Grind the walnuts in a food processor until they resemble a coarse meal. Add sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread filling over the bottom of the chilled tart shell and top with strawberries or strawberry halves—I simply plunked whole berries right into the filling, the filling with rise over them as it cooks.

Lower the oven temp to 315 and bake for 40 minutes or until the top of the tart is a medium-brown.

panna cotta with rose honey caramel

Around here things have been a bit crazy. We relocated back to Boston on the first of May which involved a five hour car ride with an upset, geriatric cat and three flights of stairs with no elevator. Then we commenced the scramble to get our paperwork, health permits, and supplies together for fig + kindle’s reopening in early June. This, of course, involved navigating Boston’s horrifically bloated beaucracy, taking incorrect buses to industrial neighborhoods, and nearly crying when meeting someone who actually had helpful information– nice old ladies in government offices are a blessing.

Things are pretty well set. Our apartment is filling up with boxes of packaging, chocolate, and herbs, and orders are coming in for the June Tasting Box—something we are super excited to start manufacturing after the June 15^th sign up deadline (so quick! Check it out).

With all this running around I have not been in the recipe-making, photographing, blogging mood—long days of running around and sitting on public transportation do not so much inspire creativity in the kitchen. However, with a quick break and an easy classic, we are finally back in the blogosphere.

Panna Cotta is one of those desserts I would have brushed off in my younger years. Not dense enough, not homey enough, not filled with crunchy things or chocolate. Although, recently I have been craving something sweet, simple, and easy to make and this wiggly dessert came to mind. Panna Cotta is essentially cooked cream held together by agar agar or gelatin…call it milk jello if you will…or don’t if that makes you want to gag. It’s almost sinfully easy to make, and a perfect base for summery fruit desserts. However if you, like me, live in a part of the country where virtually NOTHING is producing fruit at this time of year, you can get a little more indulgent with your panna cotta accompaniment.

Being a caramel-crazed household, I decided to make myself and the boys a panna cotta topped with rose honey caramel sauce. The stuff if liquid gold: deep-flavored, rich, and a perfect combination for spring weather that hasn’t quite warmed up yet.

Panna Cotta

1 tbsp of powdered gelatin
1 cup of cream
1/4 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cup of milk
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla

Place the gelatin and more or less 2 tbs water in a small bowl, set aside to bloom (will take about 5 mins).

Combine the milk, cream, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stirring, heat until sugar dissolves.

Add the gelatin and continue cooking until no grains remain (1-2mins). Add in vanilla or flavoring of choice.

Pour the cream mixture into ramekins, cups, bowls, or virtually any container you can think of. Leave them on the counter until at room temperature, then place in the fridge until firm (2-4 hours)

Rose Honey Caramel

2 tbs rose petals, chopped
7 tbs heavy cream
4 tbs butter, cubed
11 tbs sugar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs water
1 tsp salt

Heat the cream in a mug until bubbling, immediately add rose petals and cover with a plate. Let steep for 10-15 minutes.

Once steeped, put the mixture through a strainer. Set aside.

Combine the sugar, honey, salt, and water in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Stir gently until sugar dissolves and then let boil undisturbed until the mixture turns light amber.

Reduce heat and whisk in the cream in three installments—be careful as the mixture will bubble and release a hot burst of steam with each addition.

Place the caramel in a bowl and let cool for 10 minutes.

Add the cubed butter, stir until incorporated.

Pour the caramel into a jar and keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.