Doing What I Said I'd Do: Rustic Plum Tart
Now how's this for follow-through: I said I would bake a plum tart, and I did. I don't always roll like that. I have, for instance, said I would go to Brussels to visit one of my favorite people on earth, or write a book (ahem), or brutally edit my overstuffed closet. All of these things I want to do, and yet none of them have happened just yet. But the tart? The tart I totally accomplished. Checkmate. And just in the nick of time, too. I baked this tart two weekends ago with the very last of the summer plums and now, sadly, I think the plums have left the building. We don't need to hold a mourning party or anything---there are pomegranates and apples and pears to fête. But I'm glad summer stone fruit and I had one last hurrah. And really, I think this might have been my favorite thing about October.
No, not the plums, or the tart, really. But the fact that I did what I set out to do. I bought a little notebook and drew an illustration of October at the first of the month. Before that evening, wrapped up in a scratchy plaid blanket, I can't remember the last time I just picked up a pen and made it skitter across the page in the shape of a pumpkin. It felt like free-form fun, something in which I believe the American diet is epically deficient. You know the way setting up and attempting a headstand in yoga can feel? Like play? That's what it was like. And under my drawing, I wrote a list for the month of fun projects I really wanted to get to in the next 31 days. I got such satisfaction out of seeing that page with its silly illustration and then my little check marks next to each item of fun. I'm already thinking about what's on the November list.
Rustic Plum Tart with Cornmeal Crust
adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 6
I struggled with this dough a little. I'm always hesitant to add more water than the recipe stipulates, but I always seem to need it. That point withstanding, however, this was delicious. It felt like a wholesome dessert, which is just fine in my book.
for the crust
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
for the filling
1 pound red plums, quartered, pitted, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup sugar
1teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 large egg yolk, mixed with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)
First, the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. (If needed, add up to 2 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not be afraid to add more, like I was, though.)
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead just a couple times. Shape dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
After dough has chilled, lightly flour your work surface,and the top of dough. Roll dough out into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick, and transfer to a baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. In a large bowl, toss together plums, sugar, and flour. Arrange plum mixture in center of prepared crust, leaving a 2-inch border all around and letting the fruit mound abundantly in the center. Fold up the border over the fruit in a pleated pattern, and brush dough with egg wash.
Bake tart until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Slice and serve (with crème frâiche if you have it)!
