Too much butter is not always good...

I bought a bag of blood oranges on sale at the supermarket and I discovered that I'm not particularly fond of their flavor as is. So of course I look for a simple recipe that I can use them in. I was thinking of juicing the oranges and making a cream or panna cotta with them but I had no heavy cream in the fridge and I didn't feel like leaving the comfort of my warm apartment to go to the store. So I kept looking and I stumbled upon a blood orange tart recipe from Smitten Kitchen that looked perfect for my purposes.

The rustic look of the tart and the simplicity of the recipe were the deciding factors in choosing this recipe...and I'm sure I would have had awesome results had my head been in the right place the day I made it. I read the recipe the night before and the next morning, instead of rereading the recipe, I went by memory..for the crust anyway. Of course, I screw up and put in 1.5 sticks of unsalted butter instead of 1 stick that was in the recipe. And of course I don't catch my error until after I finished chilling and rolling out the dough. >_< But since I was out of flour, I went with what I had, and oh boy...the dough spread quite a bit in the baking process. It tasted ok, the crust was pretty flaky, but I'm sure it would have been even better with the original recipe! Next time I think I'll try again, but with a different fruit...maybe pears or apples :)



Blood Orange Tart
taken from Smitten Kitchen
note: Smitten Kitchen also provides a recipe for a dark, salted butter caramel to serve with the tart that I didn't make (thank god, I'd probably have ruined it and my pot if I did that day) that sounds delectable :)

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, the stick cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
3 tablespoons ice water
8 to 10 blood oranges (about 5 ounces each) [I only needed 7]
1 large egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons of water
Deep, Dark Salted Butter Caramel Sauce, for serving (after using Zoe Nathans, decided that I definitely prefer my own, reprinted below)

1. In a food processor, pulse the 1 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the baking powder and salt. Add the stick of cold butter and pulse several times, just until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle the dough with the ice water and pulse just until moistened crumbs form. Turn the crumbs out onto a work surface, knead once or twice and pat the pastry into a disk. Wrap the pastry in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

2. On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to an 11-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a parchment paper–lined flat cookie sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until chilled.

3. Meanwhile, peel the blood oranges, removing all of the bitter white pith. Thinly slice 2 of the oranges crosswise; remove the pits. Transfer the orange slices to a plate. Working over a sieve set over a bowl, cut in between the membranes of the remaining oranges, releasing the sections into the sieve. Remove the pits and gently shake out as much juice as possible without mashing the sections; you will need 1 cup of sections. Reserve the orange juice for another use.

4. Arrange the orange sections on the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the oranges. Using a paring knife, thinly slice the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the oranges. Fold up the pastry over the oranges, leaving most of the oranges uncovered. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Arrange the orange slices on top, leaving a 1-inch border of pastry all around. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar on top. Freeze the tart until solid, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

5. Preheat the oven to 375° and position a rack in the center. Place a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips. Bake the tart directly from the freezer for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the pastry is deeply browned. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the tart cool for 30 minutes. Carefully slide the parchment paper onto the rack and let the tart cool completely.