2005-05-24 - 7:36 a.m.
Tart mania
Banbury Tarts - Elsworthy's own special method.
(Or: You can't go wrong with fried pastry.) Optimally, three weeks ahead of time, but up until two days before, you will need: Golden raisins
Regular Raisins
Sultanas (really teeny tiny raisins)
Dried apricots, chopped
Dried figs, chopped
Dried dates, chopped
Other dried fruit to taste - I've used cherries, but since I only like maraschino and fresh cherries, I don't any more. Apples will work, too.
Marsala Wine (usually about $7 at the liquor store. Madeira wine will do as well, but it must be a sickly sweet dessert wine from the West Indies)
Nutmeg
Allspice
Mace
Cinnamon
Ground cloves
White pepper
Ground ginger Put all the fruit together in a food storage bowl that has a lid (not a guarantee in my house), in quantities that will make you happy (I end up with about 3 cups of fruit, but since the stuff lasts forever and gets better with age, make as much as you want). Then, in a small bowl, combine enough spices that when mixed with the fruit will cover the fruit and make it look powdery - for three cups of fruit, I use 2Tbsp cinnamon, 1tsp nutmeg, allspice and mace, and 1/2tsp pepper, ginger, and cloves, but I'll mix and match with abandon, adding more of anything that seems lacking. I usually end up with about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of spice powder. Mix the fruit and spice mixture together until everything is covered. The quick way to do this is to put the lid on the plastic container and shake. Take the Marsala wine, pour a generous amount into the fruit mixture (I usually end up putting in about 1/2 a cup). Put the lid on, and shake well. Stick it in the pantry/cupboard and let it sit, ideally for a week or two, shaking every now and then, and adding more wine if the mixture seems too dry (it should be mincemeat consistency). The day of/day before you're going to serve the tarts, you will need: Prepared or purchased pastry
Cooking oil (neutral flavour)
Honey or brown sugar I find three cups of prepared fruit makes about four dozen tarts, and I buy my pastry, which means that I get 6-7 tart rounds out of a single pre-prepared pie round (2 per box, and I usually buy three boxes, because even if you have leftovers, you can always use pastry for something). Currently, I like the Pillsbury refrigerated rolled-up pastry. If it's pre-frozen, the pastry will be more crumbly, making the tart more fragile. Refrigerated is best. Cut out pastry rounds. I use a pierogi maker, because it cuts the round and seals the tart shut, but you can do it by hand. Put a teaspoon of mixture in the center of the pastry, fold it over, and press the edges shut with a fork (or your pierogi maker - I love the thing, since it makes this part very simple). Press the edges down with a fork until they're thin, then roll them up a little - this will prevent the tart from unsealing in the hot oil, and means that the thin edges won't burn. Heat a neutral-flavour oil in a deep pan until it's barely smoking (I use a safflower oil that's refined for high-temperature frying), then, doing one at a time, take a slotted metal spoon and drop the tarts in the hot oil. You really *do* need to do this one at a time, since they brown in about 15-20 seconds, and doing more than one at a time means you risk burning them. If the oil starts to smoke more than the barest amount, turn the heat down. On an electric stove, I start with the oil on high, turn it down to medium-high when I put the first tarts in, then end up turning it down again to medium about halfway through. Put the fried tarts on a paper towel to drain. If you want to glaze the tarts with honey (sticky, but good), heat the honey gently over low heat until it's liquidy, and brush it on the tarts with a pastry brush. This isn't so good if you're taking the tarts somewhere - the honey makes them stick together a bit. Otherwise, sprinkle the tarts with sugar as soon as they're drained (still warm). You can use confectioner's sugar if you're not too worried about authenticity, but I prefer light brown sugar. Eat. Enjoy. Remember, you *can't* go wrong with fried pastry.
Dorsal - Ventral
Funnier than me: James Lileks disclaimer!
all words copyright Laura Mellin 2000-2005
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