Ready, Set, Weekend with Simply Beautiful Eating

Now this is exciting! I collaborated with the Feedfeed and Driscolls this week!

In our home, we give our best shot to grow our berries and vegetables when the Canadian climate is kind to our needs. We are also big supporters of our local farmers by getting our seasonal berries, fruits and vegetables at the market. Our summers are short around here and as soon as the weather turns nasty, we need to turn to imported fruits and veggies.

Driscolls is the brand we reach for at the market. They have been family owned for over 100 years and are dedicated to growing premium fresh berries.

When the feedfeed asked me to do this collaboration with Driscolls, I was super pumped to create a unique recipe using their berries. After all, I feel like the “Berry Queen” with the amount of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries I consume on a weekly basis.

Stuffing myself with antioxidant rich foods has been a daily routine of mine since my early forties. I don’t know if it’s helping freeze the aging process, but it sure can’t hurt. Right?

I especially love using fresh raspberries in baking, sauces, syrups and smoothies.

This original recipe (which I dreamt about for about 3 nights straight) was concocted around a specific tart pan. Which I had trouble finding, by the way.

It seems that no stores carry 14 inch rectangular pans with a removable bottom. WHAT!

I think I may have a tart pan addiction. SOMEONE NEEDS TO PLAN AN INTERVENTION. This particular one was missing from my repertoire and I WANTED AND NEEDED IT BADLY.

Naturally, there was a lot of running around involved with trying to locate one of these pans.

I would dash in and out of a store – sweating a bit – trying to find the exact pan I was looking for, only to be met with sales staff saying:

“huh”? “what”? “never seen one” “a removable bottom” ? “what size did you say” “ya we have one but we really don’t” “sorry they are sold out” “oh, I think we sold the last one today….some lady came in and…….” “let me check” “for what’? “say what”? “can you describe it again”? “can you show me what it looks like on your phone”? “do you bake”? “what do you bake”? “what do you need it for’? “could you use this one instead”? “oooooo….what are you making”? “I’ve never seen that size” “Pardon’? “follow me to the bakeware section” “do you want to special order it”? “I think we had them” “Oh ya, they are $14.99 and shipping is $35 and will take 6 -8 weeks” “did you try going online”? “did you try going to…..”?

OH MY G-D! STTTTOOOOOPPPPP!!!

Anyhoo…. I finally found one – OF COURSE – right near my house at a local kitchenware store FOR $6.99!!!

Now take a look at this tart. Wasn’t it worth running around for the pan? YES and YES!

I used a delicious shortbread cookie dough crust spiked with coconut, had a little bit leftover so I pulled out my mini tartlette pans and made extra, then filled it with a fresh raspberry infused coconut filling and simply topped it with lemon zest and these stunning Driscolls raspberries.

OH and in the middle of all this I needed leaves. Yes, leaves.

Would you like to know what I looked like when I went to get these leaves?

Let me tell you in one word – BEDRAGGLED.

Yup, hair up in a ponytail, not a stitch of makeup on and in my jammies. I think my neighbours may have reported me today.

NEW TITLE TO ADD TO MY BUSINESS CARD: CELH (Chief Executive Leaf Hunter)

Raspberry Coconut Tart

Coconut Shortbread Crust 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup powdered sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½-inch cubes 1 egg, lightly beaten ¼ cup shredded sweetened coconut

Fresh Raspberry Coconut Filling 3 cups fresh organic Driscolls raspberries ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon lemon zest 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ¼ cup shredded sweetened coconut 2 tablespoons water 2 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons plus 2 tsp cornstarch ⅛ tsp salt 1 tablespoon chilled unsalted butter, diced into small cubes Additional raspberries and lemon peel curls for Garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

For the crust, pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture looks like small pebbles and there are no pieces of butter larger than the size of a pea.

Add the egg a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.

Once all of the egg has been added, process until the dough forms large clumps.

Turn the dough into a 14 X 4¼-inch rectangular tart pan and use your fingers to press it into an even layer all over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.

You can run a rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to remove the excess dough.

Place the pan in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Pierce the dough all over with a fork, then cover the crust with aluminum foil, pressing the foil tightly against the crust and covering the sides. I use pie weights to hold the dough in place.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Carefully remove the foil and return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and place the tart pan on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

For the raspberry coconut filling, combine raspberries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Bring mixture to a boil (about 5 minutes); reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes to thicken.

Remove mixture from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Place in a food processor or blender; process until smooth.

Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard the solids.

Wipe pan clean and return strained mixture to pan.

Whisk together egg yolks, coconut and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth.

Stir yolk mixture into raspberry mixture; bring to a boil over medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).

Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Place curd into a medium bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming.

Chill curd in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or up to 1½ weeks.

To assemble tart, spoon raspberry coconut filling into cooled tart shell and spread into an even layer with a spatula.

Arrange additional raspberries over filling and garnish with lemon peel curls. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.See ya next week! Debi @simplybeautifuleating