Pasta Flora

It was international night again last month. We decided to go greek! OOpah! The main entre was absolutely terrible, though my friends were kind enough to eat it. But the star of the show was the dessert - Pasta Flora. It's essentially and cherry pie, greek-style. I found the recipe here and I have to say, it was pretty easy and pretty tasty!

I used cherry jam for the filling which I would recommend.

• FOR THE FILLING
• 1 1/2 cups of jam
• .
• TART SHELL MADE WITH BUTTER
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon of grated orange or lemon peel
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons of brandy
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons of baking powder

• Butter Shell:
  
  Cream the butter, adding orange or lemon zest, then sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then brandy, and beat until fully combined. Beat or mix in flour until combined. Use hands to form into a smooth dough. 

Make the Tart

Roll out half the dough to fit in the bottom of the tart pan. Roll out about 1/3 of the remaining dough to make a strip (about a small finger's width and height) and place all the way around the raised sides of the tart pan, pressing gently to cover evenly and join with the base.

Spread the jam evenly over the base of the tart shell.

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

Roll out the remaining dough to about 1/4 inch thickness (or more) and cut into strips. For a decorative touch, use a fluted pastry wheel to cut the strips.

Optional: If young cooks are making this tart, walnut-sized pieces of dough can be rolled by hand into ropes (see photo).

Place the strips in a latticework (criss-cross) pattern across the top of the tart and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Yield: serves 8-12 

It was great, even for someone who really doesn't like pies!