APRICOTS AND BARBEQUE SEASON

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Americans celebrate Memorial Day not only to honor our fallen soldiers but also to kick-off barbeque season! Only, it seemed I was the only one crying for BBQ. I had to bribe my friends with two pounds of Korean-style short ribs to get them to fire up the grill! Usually, barbeque equals pie in my world but this year I picked up a dozen of what looked like scrumptious ripe apricots. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them but almonds seemed like a good pairing so I chose to bake a tart instead of traditional pie. I found this Lovely Summer Apricot Tart recipe from Honest Cooking, The Food Magazine.

ph: Kimberly Hasselbrink, The Year in Food

Lovely Summer Apricot Tart

Pastry Crust:

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour

2 Tablespoons almond flour plus more for sprinkling

1. Pre-heat oven to 350º F. Butter a 9" round tart pan or a rectangular tart pan of your choice. 
2. To make the pastry crust -- combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl. 
3. Add the remaining pastry ingredients and stir until combined. I used a pastry cutter to cut in the fat/flour until it resembled course meal. If you squeeze a bit between your fingers, it will stick. It just won't resemble a dough ball. 
4. Press the pastry crust mix into the bottom and up sides of your tart pan until it resembles a crust. 
5. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, making sure not to burn it.

Tart Filling:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon honey
2 Tablespoons almond flour
6-8 apricots, sliced thinly

1. Whisk together cream, egg, almond & vanilla extracts, and honey.
2. Add in almond flour and stir to combine.
3. Arrange sliced apricots in any patter you desire.
4. Carefully pour the filling all around the fruit but do not cover it.
5. Place tart pan on a baking sheet and carefully slide into the oven.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, check to see if done. If not, continuing baking up to 20 additional minutes, checking frequently to make sure you don't burn it. 
7. Remove tart from oven and let cool completely. 

Note: My luscious looking apricots ended up being overly-tart and under-ripe. After slicing them, I sprinkled them with about 1/8 cup of sugar and macerated them until slightly sweeter.

This tart was absolutely delicious! Slightly tart, rich in creaminess, but with a sweet crust. Perfect foil for BBQ.