Clementine and chocolate tart
( Crostata con clementine e cioccolato )

Recipe for citrus and chocolate tart

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare the tart dough.
  Place the flour, mixed with sugar, on the work surface and make a large well in its center.
  Pour the olive oil, milk, vanillin and baking powder in the well.
  Begin mixing all the ingredients gathering the flour-and-sugar mixture from the edge of the well with a fork.
  Then knead quickly up to a homogeneous dough.
  Add other milk if necessary.
  Let it rest even in the fridge, about 30 minutes.
• - Baking the tart.
  Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
  Line a round baking pan of 24 cm (about 10in) in diameter with baking paper.
  Roll out your dough and line the baking pan.
  Spoon the jam in a uniform layer.
  Bake until the surface is golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  Remove the baking pan from the oven and let your tart cool very well.
• - Prepare the clementines.
  Peel the clementines eliminating as much as possible their white filaments.
  Divide them into segments.
  Mix the rum with the same amount of water and granulated sugar.
  Bring to a boil and let it simmer for a minute.
  Add the clementine segments too.
  Bring to a boil again and let them simmer on medium heat for about 3 minutes.
  Turn off the stove and remove the clementine segments with a skimming ladle.
  Put them apart on a plate.
  Break the chocolate and add it together with the milk to the cooking liquid of clementines.
  Melt the chocolate on very low heat, stirring continuosly, or even better in a double boiler.
  At this point, take the majority of the clementine segments and dip in melted chocolate.
• - Garnish your tart.
  Arrange clementines, wrapped in chocolate, on jam layer leaving space for some segments without chocolate coating. This step is necessary to create a combination of colors and make the cake more beautiful.
  If you have any melted chocolate left, distribute it on the tart surface.

Just before serving

• - Let your tart rest for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Note

Tips

• - Use good-quality, juicy clementines.
• - You can prepare this citrus-and-chocolate (clementine and orange jam) tart even the day before.
• - As you can see in the photo the tart dough is a thin layer. If you prefer to have more dough you need to double the doses but its nutritional values change.
• - Let me point out that this tart dough is without eggs and butter and then it may be OK for those who must control food fat but also for those who generally want to eat in natural and healthy way.
• - On the contrary if you prefer shortcrust pastry you can use ready-to-bake pastry or make it following your favorite version or my recipe (link below).

Menu planning

• - Clementines are available between late autumn and early winter. So this tart with clementines and chocolate can be served at the end of a full menu (lunch or dinner) between November and January.
  I generally plan it to close a meat menu. Here's an example ... all link in the next paragraph!
  Starter: the traditional Italian antipasto platter with assorted cold cuts combined with cheeses (for lunch) or only cold cuts (for dinner - I remember you cheese can't be served for dinner) accompanied with crostini or canapés.
  First course: baked pasta or mushroom tagliatelle
  Second course: chestnut duck breasts and seasonal vegetables
  Dessert: this tart.

Useful links for this recipe

• - I begin with shortcrust pastry link!
• - Here are the suggested recipes for my full menu!
  Consult our directory about Italian antipasto to look for assorted platters and crostini or canapès pages for topping ideas.
  As I have just written, mushroom tagliatelle can be a solution. If you want to have a look at my recipes for baked pasta too, follow the link!
  Do you know that duck breast is very good if cooked together with fruits? I have created a lot of recipes these last years: test this meat with chestnuts ;))

Healthy eating

• - The calories and fat of this tart with clementines and chocolate don't seem exaggerated at a first reading but the real problem lies in its sugar. Its amount is quite high and this should make us meditate, for the umpteenth time, on the opportunity of eating a lot of cakes frequently. We must convince ourselves that cakes so rich in sugars (and or fat) must be eaten only in special occasions but we have to prefer low-sugar-and-fat baked sweets for our breakfast and snacks.
  My advice is especially true when we have cases of inheritance for diabetes in our family.
  In any case, everyone should follow a balanced diet, being careful to excesses of sugar and fat.
• - Fiber per serving: 2 grams (daily intake = 23 grams)

Loretta

What's the right wine for " Clementine and chocolate tart "?

My husband and I generally serve limoncino or arancino after tasting this citrus tart.