Roasted Apricot & Vanilla Tart

To make the cornmeal pastry, in a food processor, combine the butter, flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar and salt and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Alternatively, in a bowl, work the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or 2 knives. Add the yogurt and continue to pulse or stir until the mixture starts to come together in a ball. Do not overwork.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface covered with plastic wrap and press the dough into 2 disks. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or freeze for about 10 minutes. You will need 1 dough disk for the tart; reserve the remaining dough for another use.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Roll out the dough disk between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to form a 12-inch round. Remove the plastic from the top and carefully invert the dough into a 10-inch tart pan. Press the dough firmly and evenly into the pan, ensuring that the sides are not too thick. Run the rolling pin over the top to trim the dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.

Cover the dough with a round of parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the pastry is set, about 20 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake until the pastry is lightly colored, about 10 minutes more (line the edges with foil if they are browning too fast). Brush the pastry with the egg white and bake for 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

In a small bowl, stir together the apricot jam and cornstarch. Spread the jam mixture in the pastry shell and arrange the apricots on top. In a small bowl, stir together the vanilla and superfine sugar and sprinkle over the apricots. Bake until the fruit is tender and bubbling, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or chilled, dusted with confectioners sugar. Serves 8.

Adapted from New Healthy Kitchen Series, Desserts, by Annabel Langbein (Simon & Schuster, 2006)