I do not know of one organic gardener who grows cranberries and yet I suppose there is someone out there who does. Matter of fact I know few cooks who know what to do with cranberries. Yet out they come every Thanksgiving and Christmas in the form of an opened can of cranberry that sits like a jelly like, wobbly loaf of red stuff or perhaps an open can of cranberry sauce.
Cranberries are a good way to help fight bacterial infections and urinary tract infections and they are rich in vitamins A and C, lots of fiber, some iron, low in cholesterol and saturated fats.
When dried they are great to add to muffins, scones, tea breads and here is one of my favorite recipes for a Cranberry-Walnut Tart.
The tart pastry can be used for any kind of pie or tart.
I take 2 cups flour, cup superfine sugar, tsp. kosher salt, 1 cup of unsalted butter which I have cut into inch cubes and chilled and I quickly mix with my clean hand to coat the butter with flour. Now I put into the food processor and pulse quickly until the mixture resembles small peas. With the motor running I now add cup of iced water and process for about 10 seconds. I empty the food processor over a piece of aluminum foil and press all the dough and its loose particles into a ball of dough. I cut the dough into 6 sections and on a lightly floured surface I roll out each dough circle into about 6 inch circles.
Now I preheat my oven to 450F
My fillings consists of 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and dried and cup of chopped walnuts which I put into a bowl and add 1 tablespoons of superfine sugar, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar and I toss all to evenly coat all with the sugar.
I next line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and put my tart circles onto it.
I spoon the cranberry mixture into the center of each tart circle and lift the edges of the dough up around the sides to form an edge all around the fruit mixture gently pinching as I go along to form pleats (not as a pie crust, but towards the fruit mix to keep it in).
When all 6 tart circles are completed I put my cookie sheet into the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. I remove from oven, shutting off my oven, place the tarts onto a wire rack using a large, wide spatula and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Next you can lightly dust with some confectionary sugar through a small sieve and serve warm. You can add some wipe cream if you do not mind the extra calories.
