This tart or pie is a staple in our house. It's something my mother used to make (and still does) on birthdays, special occasions or even just on a Sunday afternoon for us to enjoy. It's a such a traditional recipe in Italian bakeries and everyone has their own way of doing it, so I thought I'd share my own version. I think by far this is my favourite, even though it doesn't have one of the main ingredients that traditionally everyone puts in: butter. Yup, I removed butter. I find this butter-less version to be as tasty as the original one, but you tell me...
Ingredients
350g plain or wholegrain flour
200g sugar (I use granulated cane sugar)
100g extra virgin olive oil
50g potato starch
2 eggs (swap with 140g of soy or almond yogurt, or 80g of pureed apple to make it vegan)
1 tsp of baking powder
peel of 1 lemon
For the topping / flavour:
3/4 of an apricot jam jar
I personally love apricot jam, but you can easily replace this with any other flavoured jam such as raspberry, strawberry, plum, figs, or Nutella 😉
Let's bake
Mix the eggs with the olive oil using a fork
Then add sugar, flour, baking powder, potato starch and lemon peel
Mix using your hands very quickly until all ingredients form a glossy yellow ball
Wrap it in cling film or a damp kitchen towel (it may get sticky, so perhaps put a layer of baking paper in between) and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The longer you leave it, the better, so you can actually do this the day before if you want to
Remove from the fridge and take a round 24cm diameter baking tin
Grease the tin with olive oil using a paper towel and sprinkle a thin layer of flour. This will prevent the dough from sticking on the tin.
Cut the dough in half using a knife or simply break it apart using your hands. Half of the dough will be used as the bottom layer, the other half will be used for the strips or ribbons to put on top and decorate it.
Using your hands or the bottom of a cup, press the dough on the bottom of the cake tin so that it evens out and is about 1cm thick (not higher than that).
Poke your base with a fork all around so that it gets a chance to breathe while it cooks.
Now spread your choice of jam all over so that it's even - about 1-2cm hight.
Create little strips using your hands and decorate how you want to. I sometimes, depending on the occasion, use cookie shapers to make shapes and lay them on top!
Once it's ready, place in the oven at 180º C for about 45 minutes or until golden. I like to cook mine in the bottom part of the oven so it cooks well underneath, but stays a nice light colour on top.
Enjoy at room temperature! The next day will taste even better.
Let me know how you get on, and as always, please do get in touch if you have any questions in regards to recipes, nutrition tips etc.
Love,
Marta x
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