You might remember a few posts back I harvested a ton of grapes off of our vine this year. I gave some to my neighbors but still have quite a bit, so I was happy to see this Harvest Tart from David Lebovitz includes grapes! And let me tell you it’s absolutely delicious with apples, figs and grapes. My grapes were on the small side compared to what you buy in the store, but wow they taste so much better, very sweet and without that bit of tartness you sometimes get with green grapes. I wish I knew what kind I planted so that I could recommend them, but I can’t seem to locate the tag that came with it, which means it was probably on the container itself and after two years is long gone. Oh well. I used my usual pie dough but you can use David’s recipe below if you’d like to try it out. I was kinda sad to see summer end, but the fall is such a wonderful time to bake and make soups and all that good stuff. I’m fully embracing it!

Harvest Tart

For the dough

2 3/4 cups (400g) flour
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
9 ounces (250g) unsalted butter, chilled
2 large eggs (total)
3 tablespoons water

For the filling

2 1/4 pounds (1kg) apples, peeled and cored (about 4-5 large apples)
12 figs, halved
1 small bunch (2 to 4 ounces, 60-120 grams) fresh grapes, stemmed
1/3 cup (65g) sugar, plus additional sugar for sprinkling
a big handful of whole walnuts
1 1/2 tablespoons Armagnac (or brandy or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 cup (250g) crème fraîche
1 large egg

1. To make the dough, in a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into cubes and mix together with your hands or using a pastry blender until it’s in small pieces no larger than the size of corn kernels. (I used a pastry cutter, the last couple times I’ve used the food processor I over processed and the butter pieces were too small)

2. Add one egg and the water, and mix until the dough holds together. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it’s about 18-inches (45 cm) round.

Brush off any excess flour and fit into a 9- or 10-inch high-sided round baking or pie dish. (There’s a lot of liquid in this tart so you will want to use a baking dish, unlike my other galettes)

3. Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl with a fork, then brush the insides of the dough with the egg. (I skipped this part)

4. Prepare the filling by slicing the apples into eighths. Mix them together with the figs, grapes, 1/3 cup (65 g) sugar, and Armagnac, then transfer the filling into the tart dough. Strew the walnuts over the top of the fruit. (I used hazelnuts which tasted great!)

5. In a small bowl, mix together the crème fraîche with the egg and pour it over the fruit and nuts. Lift the edges of the dough and cover the fruit, then sprinkle a good amount additional sugar over the top of the dough. (Here I did an egg wash over the top of the crust, I think you get a better looking, more golden, crust with egg, beat 1 egg and then brush on top of crust before sprinkling sugar)

6. Put the tart on a baking sheet and bake in a 425Fº (218ºC) oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the top of the dough is browned and the fruit is cooked through, which you can verify by poking the center with a paring knife; when done, it should meet no resistance. (at 55 minutes mine was well done)

7. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool down a bit before serving. (It’s better to serve in a bowl because of the cream base. Store any extra in the refrigerator, then warm before serving)

Adapted from David Lebovitz

I know, I know, it’s September, but it is technically still summer. I’ve been wanting to do a summer cheese board for some time and also show the grapes we grew! We were so excited to see them grow this year since we only planted them two years ago. It’s a pretty productive vine and I have no idea what to do with so many green grapes other than cheese boards and snacks. They were a challenge to photograph, mostly hiding behind the leaves, and being on the northern fence, it was almost always bad lighting. When light did reach the grapes, it was like a giant spotlight, and when it didn’t, it was all so dark. And green. But hey, here they are. After 6+ years creating on this blog, this is the first blog post without a recipe! I’ll post a list of what I have here for fruit and cheese because the Humbolt Fog with peach on a slice of baguette is amazing! I had fun arranging the cheese board with the end of summer fruits. I know strawberries don’t produce much into the summer in some areas, but in my backyard they just keep going and going, it’s one of those every-bearing varieties. The plums and peaches are truly reaching the end of the season here, when I was buying them the clerk said get them while you can because this is it. So this is it. End of summer folks, Autumn begins September 23rd. Soups are on the horizon!