Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (45 page)

Patsy’s Italian restaurant is a New York institution. Family owned for generations, it feels like home and the food rivals anything momma used to make. I love it, and the Scognamillos, who make the restaurant the great place it is.

—Tony Danza

Rice Pudding Tart with Dried Cherries

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

When you need a special dessert for a family dinner, I recommend this crostata filled with creamy Arborio rice pudding and dried cherries. You won’t believe how easy it is to pull this off—the dough doesn’t have to rolled out and is simply pressed into the tart pan.

FILLING

⅓ cup dried tart cherries

2 tablespoons maraschino liqueur (see Note), kirsch, or golden rum

2½ cups whole milk

¼ cup Arborio rice

¼ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

TART DOUGH

1 cup all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1.
To make the filling: Combine the dried cherries and maraschino liqueur in a small bowl. Let the cherries soak and soften while preparing the crostada.

2.
Bring the milk, rice, granulated sugar, and butter to a simmer in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the saucepan. Simmer, stirring often, until the rice is very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3.
Meanwhile, make the tart dough: Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400°F.

4.
Mix the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces of butter. Stir in the yolk mixture and mix until the dough clumps together. Press the dough firmly and evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes.

5.
Line the dough with a sheet of aluminum foil and fill the foil with pastry weights or dried beans. Place the tart pan on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the edge of the crust is beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and lift off the foil with the weights. Pierce the crust a few times with a fork and return to the oven, without the foil and weights. Continue baking until the bottom of the dough is just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven again.

6.
Stir the soaked cherries with their liqueur, whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla into the cooled rice mixture. Pour into the crust. Return to the oven and continue baking until the filling is set when the pan is shaken lightly, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool. (The cooled tart can be covered and refrigerated for 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.)

7.
Remove the sides of the pan. Sift confectioners’ sugar through a fine-mesh wire sieve over the tart. Cut into wedges and serve.

NOTE:
Maraschino is a clear liqueur made from Dalmatian cherries (Dalmatia used to be part of the Venetian Empire). It bears no resemblance to American maraschino cherries.

Whenever I want an authentic home-cooked Italian meal I go to Patsy’s Italian Restaurant.

—Sean “Diddy” Combs

Peach Crostata

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

A crostata can be made in a tart pan for a finished, “bakery” appearance, or it can be shaped free-form for a rustic look. This is a summertime crostata, for when local peaches are in season and you want to eat them for every meal before they are gone.

DOUGH

1 cup all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached, plus more for rolling out

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

3 tablespoons ice-cold water, as needed

FILLING

4 ripe peaches, peeled (see Note), pitted, and cut into ½-inch wedges

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1.
To make the dough: Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and cut it in with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-size pieces of butter. Stir in enough water to moisten the flour mixture until it clumps together. Press the dough together: It should be moist and pliable enough to roll out without cracking, so add a little more water, if needed. Gather the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. (The dough is easiest to roll out after 1 or 2 hours of chilling. If it is very chilled and hard, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.)

2.
To make the filling. Toss the peaches, cornstarch, and sugar together in a medium bowl.

3.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

4.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 13-inch-diameter circle. Transfer it to the lined baking sheet. Leaving a 3-inch-wide border, arrange the peach slices in two concentric circles, overlapping as needed, on the dough circle. Fold the exposed crust over the peaches, leaving some peaches exposed in the center. Dot with the butter and pour and juices from the filling bowl over the peach mixture.

5.
Bake until the filling juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes. Carefully slide the crostata onto a serving dish. Serve warm or cooled.

NOTE:
To peel the peaches, bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Working in batches, add the peaches and boil just until the skin loosens, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to a bowl of iced water and let stand until cool enough to handle. Using a small knife, remove the skins.

For “boil-less” peeling, use a swivel-type vegetable peeler to remove the skins from the raw peaches. Use light pressure and work around the circumference of the peach as if you were peeling an apple, moving the peeler in a slight zigzag motion.

If the peach skins are thin and fuzz-free, then you can also opt out of peeling entirely.