Pate Brisee For Asparagus Tart Recipes

ALL BUTTER PIE CRUST FOR PIES AND TARTS (PâTE BRISéE)

Steps:

• Remove from refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes: When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the disk from the refrigerator and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes to take enough of a chill off of it so that it becomes easier to roll out. While the dough disk is still wrapped in plastic, warm the edges with your hands. If there are any cracks in the dough, massage them to close them.

PATE BRISEE (PIE DOUGH)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
• With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

ESSENTIAL PATE BRISEE

Steps:

• Pulse flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining. Evenly drizzle 1/4 cup ice water over mixture. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. If dough is too dry, add up to 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse to combine.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide dough in half, then shape each half into a disk. Wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.)

TEST KITCHEN'S FAVORITE PATE BRISEE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle 5 tablespoons water over mixture; pulse several times to combine. Add more water,1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture holds together when pinched.
• For a 9-inch pie, shape dough into two disks and wrap each in plastic. For a slab pie, shape dough into a rectangle and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day, or freeze up to 3 months; thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.

PATE BRISEE FOR ASPARAGUS TART

Steps:

• Pulse flour, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 1/4 cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
• Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

PATE BRISEE (FRENCH SHORTCRUST)

Steps:

• Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times to mix. Add cubed butter; pulse until crumbly.
• Pour slow stream of ice water through feed tube while the processor is on low speed until dough holds together when pinched, making sure not to add too much.
• Divide dough evenly into 2 pieces. Form dough into discs on a lightly floured work surface. Wrap discs with wax paper or parchment paper before wrapping with plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until use.
• Roll dough out on a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin between 2 pieces of parchment paper to desired thickness when ready to use.
• Butter two 9-inch tart pans. Roll crusts 1 at a time onto the rolling pin and unroll over tart pans. Gently push dough into the prepared pans, molding to the sides. Trim edges with fingers or a knife. Fill and bake according to filling recipe instructions.

PATE BRISEE FOR PIES

Steps:

• Pulse flour, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Drizzle 1/3 cup ice water evenly over mixture. Pulse until mixture holds together when pressed between 2 fingers (dough should not be wet or sticky). If dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse.
• Shape dough into 2 disks, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

PâTE BRISéE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor (or whisk together by hand in a bowl). Add butter, and pulse (or quickly cut in with a pastry blender or your fingertips) until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some larger pieces remaining. Drizzle 1/4 cup water over mixture. Pulse (or mix with a fork) until mixture just begins to hold together. If dough is too dry, add 1/4 cup more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse (or mix with a fork).
• Divide dough in half onto two pieces of plastic wrap. Gather into two balls, wrap loosely in plastic, and press each into a disk using a rolling pin. Refrigerate until firm, well wrapped in plastic, 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Dough can be frozen up to 3 months; thaw in refrigerator before using.)
• Shortening Variation
• Replace 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter with 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces.
• Lard Variation
• Replace 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter with 1/2 cup cold lard. For the best quality, it's worth seeking out leaf lard. You can buy rendered leaf lard from online vendors, or from artisanal butcher shops.
• Cornmeal Variation
• Replace 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal.
• Cheddar Variation
• Reduce butter to 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) and add 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar to the flour mixture along with the butter. Increase sugar to 1 tablespoon.

TART CRUST

Steps:

• Put the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse once or twice to mix. Add the butter, and pulse twice more, so it's still in very large pieces. Steadily pour the ice water into the machine while pulsing it as quickly as you can, until the butter is still visible in large smears and the dough is pushing up the sides of the bowl and looks like damp bread crumbs (you may not need to add all the water).
• Scrape the dough crumbs into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough will continue to hydrate, but if it still feels powdery and dry, wet your fingertips and flick a little cold water onto the crumbs.) After 1 hour, divide the dough into two even balls, gently squashing each into a disc, and wrap each in plastic wrap. Put one in the fridge, to roll out for the potato-and-radicchio tart, and put the other in the freezer so that you have dough ready to go for another tart.

PATE BRISEE (FLAKY SWEET PASTRY DOUGH)

Steps:

• Place one cup of flour, the butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add the water and slowly pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about six to eight times. Do not let it form a ball. Turn the pastry out onto waxed paper and flatten the dough into a circle. If the dough is excessively sticky, sprinkle it with several tablespoons of flour. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate for at least one hour.

ASPARAGUS TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pate brisee on a lightly floured surface to a 10-by-15-inch rectangle. Press dough into bottom and up sides of a fluted 8-by-11-inch rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim excess dough flush with edges of pan using a sharp paring knife. Prick bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook asparagus until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with tongs or drain in a colander, and immediately transfer to ice-water bath. Let stand for 1 minute to stop the cooking process. Drain. Slice each spear in half lengthwise.
• Line dough with parchment, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges are just golden, about 25 minutes. Remove pie weights, and bake until tart shell is golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Spread ricotta over tart shell while still warm. Season with salt and pepper. Top with asparagus, and drape prosciutto over top. Drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.

BASIC FRENCH TART DOUGH/PATE BRISEE (DORIE GREENSPAN)

Steps:

• FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in the processor and whir a few times, until the butter is coarsely mixed into the flour. Beat the egg with the ice water and pour it into the bowl in 3 small additions, whirring after each one (Don't overdo it - the dough shouldn't form a ball or ride on the blade) You'll have a moist, malleable dough that will hold together when pinched. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball (if the dough doesn't come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it lightly), and flatten it into a disk.
• HAND METHOD: Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Drop in the bits of butter and, using your hands or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed. You'll have large and small butter bits, and that's fine - uniformity isn't a virtue here. Beat the egg and water together, drizzle over the dough, and, using your fingertips, mix and knead the dough until it comes together. Turn it out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball (if the dough doesn't come together easily, push it, a few spoonfuls at a time, under the heel of your hand or knead it some more), and flatten it into a disk.
• Chill at least 3 hours or up to 5 days.
• When you're ready to bake the tart shell, butter a 9 - 91/2inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (butter it even if it's nonstick).
• To roll out the dough: Roll out the dough between sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap or in a lightly floured rolling cover; or you can roll it out on a lightly floured work surface. If you're working between sheets of paper or plastic wrap, lift it often so that it doesn't roll into the dough, and turn the dough over frequently. If you're just rolling on the counter, make sure to lift and turn the dough and reflour the counter often. The rolled-out dough should be about 1/4 inch thick and at least 12 inches in diameter.
• Transfer the dough to the tart pan, easing it into the pan without stretching it. (What you stretch now will shrink in the oven later.) If you'd like to reinforce the sides of the crust, you can fold some of the excess dough over, so that you have a double thickness around the sides. Using the back of a table knife, trim the dough even with the top of the pan. Prick the base of the crust in several places with a fork.
• Chill - freeze - the dough for at least 1 hour before baking.
• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F Press a piece of buttered foil (or use nonstick foil) against the crust's surface. If you'd like, you can fill the covered crust with rice or dried beans (which will be inedible after this but can be used for baking for months to come) to keep the dough flat, but this isn't really necessary if the crust is well chilled. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the tart pan on the sheet.
• TO PARTIALLY BAKE THE CRUST: Bake for 20 minutes, then very carefully remove the foil (with the rice or beans). Return the crust to the oven and bake for another 3 - 5 minutes, or until it is lightly golden. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.
• TO FULLY BAKE THE CRUST: Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until it is an even golden brown. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and allow the crust to cool before you fill it.

PATE BRISEE FOR PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Pulse flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, with some larger pieces remaining. Evenly drizzle 1/4 cup ice water over mixture. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. If dough is too dry, add up to 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse to combine.
• Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide dough in half, then shape each half into a disk. Wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 1 day. (Dough can be frozen up to 1 month; thaw overnight in refrigerator before using.)

PâTE BRISéE TART CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk flour, salt, and sugar in medium bowl. Add butter and shortening; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 4 tablespoons cold water. Work mixture with fingertips until dough comes together in moist clumps, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough on floured work surface to 10-inch round. Carefully transfer dough to 8-inch springform pan. Press dough onto bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up sides of pan, pressing to adhere to sides. Fold down and roll 1/2 inch of dough sides inward, forming double-thick edge at top of crust sides. Using dull edge of small knife, make small indentations at 1/2-inch intervals on double-thick edge. Chill 20 minutes.
• Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake crust until sides of crust are set, about 18 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Pierce bottom of crust all over with fork. Continue to bake until bottom is set and pale golden, about 14 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan on rack.