Beautiful Basics; Pate Brisee

I love this recipe. Home run. Clotilde Dusoulier from Chocolate and Zucchini really nailed it. Recipe provides the big three; flexibility, ease and taste.

It was dinner time, and I was out of store-brought puff pastry. Key ingredient to the spinach Quiche I had planned to make.  My cookbooks were ready reference since my move and I was too lazy to head back to the store.

I decided to give up the ghost of being intimated by the thought of making scratch pastry and grabbed my food processor. I added the measured ingredients of flour, butter, egg, sea salt and water, closed my eyes and hit the pulse button on my Cuisinart.  After chilling the dough for thirty minutes, my first short pastry was born.  Darn, why didn’t I do this earlier? It was that easy.  Now, I am on a Quiche making rampage.  I look for reasons to make this and I beam with delight when I share the results with others.

INGREDIENTS (10 inch tart, or six 5 inch tartlets)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg lightly beaten

Ice-cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. If working with a food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter in the processor. Process at low-speed for about 10 seconds, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the egg and mix again for a few seconds, until the dough comes together in a ball.  If the dough is a little dry, add a little water 1 teaspoon at a time, and process again in short pulses until the dough comes together. Turn out to a lightly floured work surface and gather into a ball without needing. Proceed to step 2.

If working by hand, sift the flour into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the salt and diced cold butter, and rub the mixture with the tips of your fingers or a wire pastry blender until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Beat the egg lightly in a small bowl. Form a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the egg, and blend it in gently with a fork. When most of the egg is incorporated, knead gently until the dough comes together. If it is a little dry, add ice-cold water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough forms a ball.  Avoid overworking the dough, or it will be tough. Proceed to step 2.

2. Shape the dough into a slightly flattened ball.  Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to a day. Let stand at room temperature before using. Just long enough that the dough can be rolled out without cracking: this usually takes about 10 minutes, but it will vary depending on the heat and humidity. The dough can also be frozen for up to a month.

3. Sprinkle flour lightly on a clean work surface and on your rolling-pin, and place the slightly flattened ball of dough on the work surface in front of you. Roll the pin over the dough two or three times with moderate pressure. Rotate the dough by a quarter of a turn clockwise and roll the pin over it two or three times.  Repeat these steps until you get a circle large enough to line your pan, sprinkling the work surface and the rolling-pin with a little more flour when the dough starts sticking to either of them.

VARIATIONS

Flavor the dough with a tablespoon of dried herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano), 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground spices (nutmeg, ginger, cumin), or 1/4 cup grated hard cheese (Parmesan in particular). Add these flavorings with the flour.

Recipe courtesy of Chocolate and Zucchini, Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen