Italian Apricot Jam Crostata with Cornmeal-Hazelnut Streusel

Instructions

For crostata crust:

1. Remove the double batch of cornmeal sablé dough from the fridge and let it warm up for about 20 minutes. It should still feel cold to the touch, but you should be able to leave an indentation easily if you stick your finger into it.
2. Take a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Use your hands to take small chunks of dough and press it into the prepared tart pan. Keep doing this until you have an even layer of dough on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use a glass to make sure the bottom layer is even. You will have excess dough leftover—wrap that in plastic and put back in the fridge.
4. Put the tart pan in the freezer until ready to bake.

For apricot jam filling:

1. De-pit and slice the apricots into quarters or sixths, if the fruit is large. Discard the pits and place the slices in a large pot along with the star anise, cinnamon stick, and 1/4 cup of water.
2. Heat on medium-high until mixture is boiling, then reduce to medium and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add the sugar and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. While jam is cooking, zest your lemon and cut in the lemon in half.
4. Add the sugar and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. While jam is cooking, zest your lemon and cut in the lemon in half.
5. After the 15 minutes is done, remove pot from heat. Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice from both halves, and 1-2 Tbsp of Grand Marnier. Taste after the first tablespoon to see if you want to add any more.
6. Place the pot on a trivet or towel, and put it in the fridge to cool down.
7. While the jam is cooling, parbake the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Remove the tart pan from the freezer and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a Silpat - this is to keep anything from leaking. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust starts to pull away from the pan but hasn't taken on any color yet. Let cool for 5 minutes. Change the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

For streusel:

1. While crust is cooling, make the streusel topping. Remove the extra dough from the fridge and put into a small bowl. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and add to the bowl.
2. Use your hands to smush the hazelnuts into the dough to create small chunks of hazelnut-inflected dough. It doesn't need to look perfect—its streusel! Set aside.
3. Sprinkle the streusel chunks evenly over the jam.
4. Sprinkle the streusel chunks evenly over the jam.
5. Bake tart at 375 degrees for an additional 20 minutes, until tart crust is nicely browned but the hazelnuts aren\'t smelling burnt. The streusel might look lighter than the crust, but you want to make sure the crust is browned so it won\'t be soggy.
6. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.