Spoonful of Zucker: Fresh Apricot Tart

I don't know whether this is true for others, but I realized the other day that I have never eaten a fresh apricot. I like to snack on the dried ones and I like apricot jelly, but I had no idea what a fresh apricot tasted like. So when I saw them on sale at my new favorite place, the farmer's market, I had to buy them. At that point, I didn't even know what to make with them yet, but finally, I decided on a tart. For some reason, I was really surprised by how tart the apricots are, and I'll warn you that this is a pucker-up recipe. I like sour things, but if you're not into that, rather than adding a bunch of unnecessary sugar, try using peaches or plums instead. The rest of the recipe would stay the same, but if you choose peaches, remember to peel them. (The skins on apricots and plums are thin enough to leave on.) As promised, I have finally gotten around to making my own pie crust. Personally, I find making pie crust to be a real pain in the neck, but once in a while when the mood strikes me, I do it because it's worth it. Plus, it's just something that everyone should know how to do. It can be frustrating because it aways seems too dry when you first start to mix it, but if you add too much water, it'll get too sticky. I'm sure there are a lot of people who know how to make a better one than I do, but this works for me. It's probably much easier to use a food processor to pulse the butter and flour, but I usually use a handheld pastry cutter. Call me old-fashioned. If you would rather skip this step, pre-made refrigerated pie crusts are always your friend.

INGREDIENTS:
For crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into small cubes
2-3 tablespoons cold water

For filling:
a couple handfuls of fine ground almonds
6 or 7 fresh apricots
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
powdered sugar for the top

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and grease a 9inch tart pan with removable bottom.
2. To prepare the crust by hand, put the flour, sugar, salt, and cubed butter in a bowl and use a pastry cutter to combine it until the pieces of butter are the size of small peas and there is little flour left to settle at the bottom. Add cold water, one tablespoon at a time but only until the dough is wet enough to form into a ball. It took me 3 tablespoons to get to that point, but it's very important not to add too much.

3. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer for just a few minutes while you prepare the tart filling. This helps when you go to roll the crust because it gets too sticky and unmanageable if it isn't very cold.
4. Wash and slice the apricots. Cut them all the way around, through the top and bottom. (Like on the prime meridian of the fruit, not the equator.) Then, twist the halves apart, remove the pit, and slice each into thin wedges. Shoot for 6-8 wedges per apricot.

5. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with 2 tablespoons of sugar, the milk, and the vanilla and set aside.

6. Now, take the pie dough out of the freezer. Flour a cutting board or other clean surface, set the dough on it, and press it down a little with your hands. Then, lay the plastic wrap over the top of it and roll it with a rolling pin in all directions until you get a circle that fits your pan. When the size is just right, the thickness will be too. The point of rolling on top of the plastic wrap is to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. No matter how much I flour my rolling pin, this always happens if I don't use plastic wrap.

7. Lift the dough very carefully, remove the plastic wrap, and fit it into the pan, pressing the edges to fit. Then, take a couple handfuls of ground almonds and spread them over the bottom of the crust.