Wild Strawberry Tarts

These little strawberries are ripening fast, and in a couple of weeks the boom will be over. Yesterday we went picking with the idea of making pies. Wild strawberries (also known as wood strawberries) grow in a bunch of different areas–on roadsides, along rocky river beds, in open fields and forests. If you take a walk this week, chances are you’ll see some. But be warned, unless you find a really good patch, filling a whole jar can be seriously time consuming. I decided to make small individual tarts (3″ in diameter) because picking enough for a normal pie would have taken us the entire week. I do prefer the wild strawberries to the giant-sized ones you find in the store, but that’s a personal thing; their taste reminds me of the jams my grandmother used to make.

Enjoy!

Yields 6 small tarts

Dough

• 1 cup flour
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Rub the flour with the butter until you get a coarse sandy texture. Then add just enough cold water to make a smooth dough, about 2 – 3 tablespoons. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup wild strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Mix the strawberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes, turning the mixture with a spoon once or twice.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8″ thick.
With a glass or cookie cutter, trim out 6 rounds that are larger than your molds.
Line each buttered mold with the dough and pre-bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Trim out the edges of the dough and fill with the strawberry mixture.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Leave to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.

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Tagged as: dessert, fruits, wild