Since we always stress on organic and fresh produce, me and my team went on our local farmers market to get some inspiration for this Halloween menu. Here is where we meet Mario, our preffered vendor on which we rely for exquisite seasonally harvested goods. What first catches our eyes are plums, you can easily see they were hand-picked recently because there are still drops of morning dew on them with some small leaves still attached and their smell…God their smell...is just amazing, it smells of early winter - the balmy fresh morning breeze chilling the warm skin on the cheeks, fragrant with the scents of freshly baked bread and homemade marmalade.

Why did I choose the Plum Crostata as this Halloween Masterpiece?
Well  I love the fact that it has that old fashioned rugged dough style and the succulent plum juices spill out all over the crostata during cooking which  gives that extra #spooky effect! 

But let’s get straight to the job. This is a simple pie designed to impress your loved ones: a warm, rustic cake with a pool of soft plums inside.

Many restaurants have their own versions but I prefer the one which my grandma gave me and I am using it for years, mainly to impress the girls ;)

“The Ingredients” for 6 servings:

Crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm pieces

• 3 tablespoons (about) ice water

Topping

• 1 1/2 pounds plums, halved, pitted, each half cut into 6 slices

• 6 tablespoons sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• 1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

"The Preparation":

For crust:

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; blend until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonful if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

For topping:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Toss plums, 4 tablespoons of sugar, ginger and cinnamon in bowl. Roll out dough on floured surface. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Mix 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl; sprinkle over dough, leaving 1 cm plain border. Arrange plums in concentric circles on dough, leaving 1 cm plain border; drizzle with melted butter. Fold dough border in toward center. Brush border with egg glaze; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake tart until plums are tender and crust is golden, about 45 minutes.

Stir preserves in saucepan over low heat until melted. Brush over plums. Cool tart 1 hour on baking sheet. Run long thin knife under tart to loosen. Using the tart pan bottom, transfer tart to plate; serve at room temperature.

Hint! Even ripe plums can be tart, so sample a slice first and add an extra spoonful of sugar to the filling if it's needed. Or serve your pie with scoops of ice cream on the side.

The rest will be history!

Happy 2014 Halloween to all of you!