Peach Ginger Tart

When it comes to fruit, I’m of the opinion that fresh and unadorned is best.  Especially in the summertime, I really don’t believe in fooling around with fresh fruit, when they are at their chin-drippin’ best.  One of the exceptions to this rule of mine, of course, is the copious amounts of jam that I bottle every summer in anticipation of dark winter mornings when only a bit of Hood berry jam, preserved at its peak, will chase away the doldrums.  So, I have never really understood the obsession with various fruit pies and other sweet creations that claim to somehow augment something that is pretty perfect to begin with.

But as with any rule, exceptions must be made.  For instance, when you’ve invited people over for a mid-summer meal and want to impress with something more creative than cut fruit.  In the case of my “Don’t mess with summer fruit” rule, another exception I make is for fruit tarts, such as this Peach-Ginger Tart.  This is especially true for stone fruits like peaches, plums, and cherries, that pair wonderfully with a bit of sugar, a bit of spice, and a flaky pie crust.  But in keeping with not messing with the fruit too much, I like to keep my recipes very simple, opting not to peel the fruit or poach or cook it in any way before baking.  This generally leads to a very rustic looking product that still manages to capture the flavor of summer fruit at its best, while elevating it to something that you might serve at the end of a long summer repast without appearing too lazy.  Yet, these are so easy to put together, especially if using store-bought pie sheets, that they will not cut too much into your lazing around doing nothing time, either.  

This tart can be made as shown using a 9” tart shell, or can be adapted to make individual galettes.  Either way, it tastes great by itself, or with vanilla bean ice-cream, on a balmy summer evening.  

Peach-Ginger tart

Ingredients:

1 pie crust (either store-bought, as I prefer, or use your favorite recipe)

4-6 firm but ripe peaches, sliced into ½ inch thick slices

¼ C packed brown sugar

¼ C white sugar

2 t ginger powder or 1 T finely grated ginger root

1 T corn starch

Juice of 1 lemon

Mix all ingredients (except pie crust, of course) and marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge

Preheat oven to 350 deg F

Line a greased 9” tart pan with pie crust

Cover with wax paper, fill tart with dry beans or pie weights

Bake for 15 minutes and remove

Fill pie with fruit filling, and bake for 40 minutes or until filling is set and crust is golden brown

Serve warm or at room temperature

Masala Chai

Recently, I’ve noticed a whole slew of my friends returning home to India, mainly in order to be closer to family. While speaking about this interesting and intriguing phenomenon, I was remarking to my parents that the last time that I actually lived in India was almost 20 years ago! Yikes!

In fact, the last time that I spent any substantial amount of time at home was the 3 months I spent in Bangalore before embarking on the tortuous journey of obtaining a doctoral degree. While these 3 months are considered summer in most parts of the Northern hemisphere, in India, the months of June-August constitute the monsoons. Now, when I start wanting to describe the Indian monsoons, I invariably want to write some poetry. However, the gap between what I hope to accomplish with poetry and what I'm actually capable of is too far to bridge in this blog post. So let me leave poetry to my betters and stick to the essentials.

Monsoons in India mean various things -- incessant rain, constant loss of electricity, and unfortunate flooding and loss of lives, yes. But monsoons also mean a lot of pleasant things. Firstly, the long awaited rains are a necessity and a blessing for the farmers, who pray that their farmlands will be nourished by this rain. (They’re also a blessing for the politicians in power, because a dry year generally leads to a loss in the following election cycle). When we were children, monsoons also meant colorful gumboots and splashing in rain puddles with friends, armed with tiny paper boats to float in the whirling eddies. But as one gets too old for gumboots and paper boats, the monsoons come to mean other equally pleasant things -- copious amounts of spiced chai, drunk on windy balconies, while listening to the distant growl of thunder and watching the dark monsoon clouds gather ominously in the horizon.

These monsoon memories of my youth have been supplanted by rain of a different kind…the constant, light drizzle of the Pacific Northwest set off by a relentlessly grey sky. But today, after a long and uncharacteristic dry spell, it is raining cats and dogs in Portland, accompanied by gusty winds and a very dark sky. This weather has brought to my mind the stormy Indian monsoons, save for the distinct lack of thunder and lightning. So, as I sit here and guzzle gallons of chai, I thought I’d share with you an easy method for making tea, the Indian way.

Traditionally, Indian chai is made by boiling tea leaves in water over the stove. It is also made with a variety of spices, some of which I find overpowering. A packet of tea spices that I picked up a long time ago lists aniseeds, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, cloves, and star anise as the ingredients. I prefer to stick to just cardamom and ginger. Chai is also generally served quite sweet – a lot sweeter than my recipe below. So, the recipe I present to you here meets none of the conditions of making traditional Indian tea, but it is extremely easy to make and tastes delicious. Feel free to modify the recipe, as per your tastes. Any black tea will work, but if you can get your hands on some nice Darjeeling or Nilgiri tea, this will make for a more authentic experience. Also, if you are going to consume gallons of this tea, like I do, I suggest sticking to skim milk.

Chai for one

Boil 2C water in a kettle or on a stove.

Add 2 heaping teaspoons** of loose tea leaves into a cup

Add 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 opened pod of cardamom, and a pinch of ginger powder

Add 1 C boiling water to tea and spices, and steep for 5 minutes

Add 1/3 C hot milk to tea mixture, and strain into a fresh cup

Heat for a minute in the microwave, if necessary

Enjoy hot with pakoras, steamed edamame, or sabudana vadas.

Ok, ok....I know a lot of my Indian friends are going to exclaim incredulously at making tea this way, so if you INSIST on making it the traditional way, here’s how you do it.

Boil 1C water with 2 heaping tsp of loose black tea leaves and your choice of spices.

After ~ 3 minutes of boiling, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of milk to tea, depending on how creamy you like your tea

Add ½ tsp of sugar or more, as per your taste, and strain into a teacup

**The general rule of thumb for how much tea to add is to use 1 tsp per serving, plus 1 extra teaspoon. So for 2 people, you’d use 3 heaping tsp of tea leaves.

Tarte Tatin

A few days ago, I was walking by Nordstrom’s, and I noticed a sign that said something to the order of not ‘decking the halls’ until after November 27^th, because ‘Nordstrom’s believes in celebrating one holiday at a time’. It hit me then, that far from planning for Christmas, I had not even started thinking about Thanksgiving yet. A very busy work schedule, of late, has demanded all my time and attentions, but I realize that with a house full of guests arriving in time for the T-giving meal, I better put my thinking cap on.

We all have our favorite thing about the Thanksgiving meal. Whether it’s the T(of)urkey or the mashed potatoes; the green bean casserole that gets made only on this occasion in my house; the cranberry sauce, a personal favorite; or the various pies and sweet things reserved for the dessert course, after everyone has had to loosen their belt buckles a few notches. While I enjoy making most of these dishes, each year, I swear that next year, my Thanksgiving menu will look different. Perhaps I will do a Latin or Asian-inspired theme. Maybe I will make scalloped potatoes instead of mashed. But ultimately, whether due to popular demand or due to the fact that I only make most of these foods at Thanksgiving, I end up settling on more or less the same menu each year.

This year, though, I’m making at least one change to the menu. Instead of apple pie, I’m going to make tarte tatin! Doesn’t that sound like a real blow to tradition? Well, it turns out that tarte tatin, which is something I’ve always had a fancy to make, is remarkably similar to apple pie. But it’s a lot lighter tasting, easier to make, and yummier than most apple pies. A few posts ago, I lamented about my lack of restraint at you-pick apple orchards. So, I decided to pilot this recipe with some left over apples, to make sure that it deserved a spot on the heaving Thanksgiving table. I’m happy to report that not only is this recipe going to be part of the menu this year, it is so good that it is likely to remain parked on the menu for many more years to come.

The only thing I didn’t like about this recipe is that it doesn’t photograph well, especially when faced with the dying evening light and the prying fingers of a hungry husband. So please pardon the poor pictures, but do give this recipe a try – perhaps you will like it enough to make it part of your Thanksgiving menu, as well.

To make Tarte Tatin, you will need:

8 apples (I prefer Gala)

1T salt

1 stick butter

¾ C sugar

1-inch piece of fresh ginger*

1 T ginger powder*

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten with 1 T cold water

All-purpose flour for sprinkling on puff pastry

*The ginger flavorings are optional. While it's not part of a traditional Tarte Tatin, I find the pairing of apple and ginger hard to pass up.

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Wash, peel, and core the apples. Cut them into quarters and submerge in a bowl of cold water with the salt added to it. This will prevent your apples from turning brown while you prepare your other ingredients.

Finely chop or grate fresh ginger.

Melt butter in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet.

Add sugar, ginger powder and fresh ginger and immediately arrange apples all over the skillet, making any pattern you wish. Make sure to cover all spaces with the apples, overlapping if needed, as they may shrink considerably.

Cook’s Note 1: I like to make sure to put the rounded side of the apple quarters (not the side where the core used to be) facing the bottom of the skillet.

Cook’s Note 2: If you have any apple pieces that didn’t fit, resist the temptation to eat them all at this point. Save at least a couple, in case you find yourself with open gaps in your apple mixture, due to shrinkage while cooking.

Boil without disturbing apples until sugar caramelizes, about 10 mins

While this is happening, dust puff pastry with a little bit of flour and roll out to a ~12 inch diameter circle.

Once sugar has caramelized, take skillet off heat, and top with puff pastry circle.

Using a spatula, tuck in the puff pastry on the edges, around the apple mixture.

Brush on egg mixture, and cut a few steam vents in puff pastry.

Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, or until the puff pastry is a dark golden brown.

Remove from oven, carefully, using thick mitts. Place a plate on top of skillet. Very carefully, using mitts, invert pan so that tarte slides onto plate. If any apple pieces were left behind, carefully jiggle them out with a spoon and place in the correct spot on the tarte.

Slice into 8 wedges, and serve warm with vanilla bean ice-cream.

This keeps well at room temperature for up to 2 days and can be warmed up by the slice in a microwave.