Apricot Tart

 Apricot season is a joyful time--partly because the blossoms are so early that they frequently freeze so a year when the apricot trees bear fruit is a great treat.

There are lots of things to do with the fresh fruits--eat them right away, bottle them, make jam and preserves, dry them, or make fruit leather.

One of the first things I like to make is Apricot preserves--they are useful as a fruit spread, a glaze and other things, and it's very easy.

Apricot Preserves:
5 cups mashed up apricots--(this a good use for the over-ripe ones or ones that have been damaged--just cut away the bad parts.  You can chop them fine if you want, but I like to have chunks of fruit in mine so I just crush them into the cup to measure them they break down more as they cook.)
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar
Mix all this up and put it in the fridge overnight or for 4- 5 hours.

Place the mixture in a large pan (dutch oven size) and bring to boil stirring occasionally.  Boil about 30 minutes stirring more often as it thickens.  (Keep a close eye on it as it can scorch easily). When it seems thick enough you can put it into bottles,  Wipe off edges, place lids on top and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
(or I just fill the bottles with hot water, put the flats in a small pan covered with water and bring that to a  boil.  Then I dump out the water from the jar, fill it with hot jam, wipe off edges, put on the hot flat and tighten the ring on--then turn it upside down for about 5 minutes, and repeat for the next jar.  That involves handling a lot of boiling things quickly, but they usually seal just fine.  The last time I made this recipe I got 3 pints and a bit more for a jar to put in the fridge.



 The queen of all the things to make with apricots is a tart.  Folowing is the recipe I use.

Apricot Tart from "Once Upon a Tart" cookbook and shop in New York City.



Tart Crust
(Makes enough for two tart crusts)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks cold butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
5 Tablespoons solid shortening (chilled)
small glass ice water
1--9 inch tart pan

Put flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of food processor and pulse a couple of times to mix up and salt and flour.
Put in all the butter and shortening and pulse about 10 times or until the mixture looks like crumbs.
Pour it into a large bowl and sprinkle 4 Tablespoons ice water over the top.  Mix with a fork or your hands to bring the dough together, adding more water a Tablespoon at a time until it barely comes together.  (I usually end up adding about 8 Tablespoons altogether.)
Cut the dough in half and make into disks.  Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  (You can keep it for a few days in the fridge or freeze one of the disks if you won't be making another tart for a long time.)
When you are ready to bake the crust preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Take the disk from the fridge and roll it out and fit it to your tart pan--you can patch cracks and holes with scraps of dough.  Prick holes in the bottom with a fork.  Put a piece of foil on top of the crust--fitted to the shape of the pan, but it will be handly to have corners sticking out.  Fill it part way with dry beans or pie weights.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully lift out the foil and beans.  Return the tart to the oven for 5 more minutes.  Remove to a rack and let it cool.
(Note about the beans--they won't be good for cooking after this, so I just keep them in a container and re-use them for this purpose.)

Apricot Tart filling:

1/2 cup applesauce
15 medium apricots, halved, pits removed--be sure they are fresh and sweet apricots
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Apricot glaze.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
 Spread 1/2 cup applesauce over the bottom of the crust evenly.
Arrange the apricot halves in the shell, pitted side up in a circular pattern, overlapping them so that the bottom apricot cradles the next one, which cradles the next one.
Holding your had about 6 inches above ther tart sprinkle the sugar evenly over the apricots.
Bake in  center of oven for 50-60 minutes or until apricots are a nice golden brown and even darker around the edges.
Remove tart from oven and set on rack to cool.  After it is cool you can slide off the ring of the tart pan and then carefully transfer it to a serving platter.
Brush top with apricot glaze.

Apricot Glaze:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 Tablespoons warm water
Stir until mixed, put through a strainer.
This is useful for the Apricot tart and for other pastries--the glaze makes them look very finished, and beautiful.