Berries don't last long. You have to prepare your jam or topping right away or you have to eat the berries very shortly after you buy them; they will spoil overnight. Rich discovered a way to extend the life of his berries and has been using this method. This week he bought a huge amount of strawberries but forgot to follow his method and some of the berries got moldy by the following morning. I decided to make a desert with the ones that were still good. I prepared an adaptation of a recipe I found in my Bon Appétit book. I did not have all the ingredients to follow the exact recipe but I added and substituted with what I had on hand - it turned out berry-delicious.
Strawberry-Chocolate Tart with Nutty Crust
Crust:
1 1/2 C. mixed almonds and pecans, toasted (original called for 2 C. of pecans)
1/4 C. ground graham crackers (this was my addition)
6 T. light brown sugar
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine nuts, crackers and sugar in a food processor. Blend until nuts are finely ground. Add butter and process until it forms into a moist dough. Press dough over bottom and up sides of tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely in pan.
Filling:
3/4 C. half and half (original called for whipping cream)
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
In a heavy bottom saucepan, bring half and half to a simmer. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into crust and chill until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.
Topping:
1 Pint fresh strawberries, clean and sliced (original called for raspberries)
2-3 T. seedless strawberry jam (original called for 1/4 C. raspberry jam)
The juice of 1/2 lemon (this was my addition)
Arrange strawberries on top of tart. Stir jam and lemon juice in a heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush melted jam over strawberries. Remove tart from pan and serve cold.
Dragonfly
