Plum Tarts

We were on our way into New York City the other day to have dinner with friends and we passed a favorite farm stand in Amenia, New York. I suggested we stop in--it was about lunchtime, after all--and we walked out loaded with fruit. (No jokes, please.)

I took a couple pieces into the front seat with me for the rest of the ride. One bite of a plum and the juice spilled down my chin. I believe someone moaned. Pas moi, certainly. But someone. It was so good I didn't care when I saw it drip onto my city black. You know, the Manhattan uniform: black pants, black shirt, black socks, black shoes, black bracelet, black underwear. When my mother from Dallas first visited us in the city, she said, "Well, if I'd known they only wear black where they make the fashion, I would have packed differently."

I informed her that when she understood that conundrum, she'd not only get the city, but her son, too.

She gave me one of those looks that only a mother can give.

Anyway, the fruit's coming in by the bushels. We've just come out of a wash of cherries, we're deep into peaches and plums, and apricots are rumored to here soon.

Bruce has taken to making lovely little tarts. He stirs up a butter-and-almond-oil dough and stores it in the fridge for a few days, then rolls out a tart for us to split on the deck in the evening after dinner.

Here's the dough. Put 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir it up, then use a pastry cutter to cut in 4 tablespoons cool unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons almond oil. Let the tines really work down into the flour, repeatedly and firmly, finally creating a mixture that's like wet, very coarse sand. Mix in 1 large egg yolk and 1/4 cup low-fat or even fat-free milk with a fork. The dough should be wet but cohere well. If you find it's too dry, add a little more milk

Gather the dough into a ball, then cover it in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.

Now you're ready to go. Preheat the oven to 375F. Pinch off a little of the dough and roll it on a floured surface into the size tart pan you have. You could even do it in a larger pie plate with more dough. But we do ours in a small pan so 1) it's freshly baked and 2) we don't have leftovers we're tempted to eat all the next day. (In that picture, it's about 4 inches across.)

Top the tart with pitted sliced plums, a little ground cinnamon, and a good drizzle of honey. Bake until the crust is set and firm, about 30 minutes.

Now that's summer.

Comments

[cheryl]

I remember when I first moved out of NY and I came back to visit my mom. I was wearing a blue ski jacket. I felt like a complete fool in the subway. I wanted to scream, "No really! I'm FROM here! I just forgot to change my jacket!"