This free-form tart showcases blueberries in all their sweet-tart juiciness. The toothy cornmeal crust is a surprisingly pleasing envelope for the warm, cooked fruit.


This recipe is from my Spring 2015 issue!

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Serves 8-10

Crust - adapted from Four & Twenty Blackbirds:

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

½ cup non-gmo cornmeal

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1½ teaspoons cane sugar

1 stick cold butter, cut into small

cubes (put butter cubes into freezer for 20 minutes before using)

¼ cup cold water

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

ice, for cold water



Filling:

4 cups organic or wild blueberries

¼ cup cane sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

zest from 1 lemon (use organic, as you’ll eat the skin)

zest from 1 orange (use organic)

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

demerara sugar, for sprinkling

1 egg, slightly beaten, for wash


  1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse dry crust ingredients together.
  2. Add freezer-cold butter and pulse in bursts, until you have pea-sized bits. Be careful not to over blend.
  3. Combine water and vinegar in a measuring cup and add a few ice cubes.
  4. In a thin stream, pour into food processor as you pulse ingredients.
  5. Add more, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until dough comes together, with a few dry bits remaining.
  6. Squeeze dough to bring together and add a little more water-vinegar mixture if needed (pulse 1 more round, if you have added the liquid).
  7. Turn out onto cellophane and shape into a disk.
  8. Wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight, for the crust to mellow. (Wrapped securely, the dough keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator, or frozen for 1 month.)
  9. In a large mixing bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, flour, citrus zests, and juice. Set aside.
  10. Between sheets of parchment paper, roll out dough to a 14” round, about ¼” thick.
  11. Transfer parchement-dough layers to a rimmed baking sheet peel top parchment layer away.
  12. Pile blueberry mixture into the center, leaving a 2” border all around.
  13. Fold pastry over blueberries, pleating as you go. Brush egg wash all over pastry, then sprinkle demerara sugar over the dough. Allow a little sugar to scatter the periphery of the berries.
  14. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator and preheat oven to 375°F.
  15. Remove crostada from fridge and bake in oven for 35–40 minutes or until crust is golden and juices bubble.
  16. Allow to cool for 5–10 minutes on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

TIP:

Photography by Food, Styling, & Photography by Melina Hammer

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