One taste of skyr and I was hopelessly in love! Haven’t heard of it? It’s kind of an Icelandic yogurt. Except it’s not really yogurt, it’s more of a super creamy soft cheese with a tangy taste that is, well, very yogurt-y in flavor. Skyr has been a food in Iceland since it’s occupation by the Norwegians. It’s not as popular in other Scandinavian countries (it sort of died out) but it has made a comeback. Would you believe that the US is the highest consumer of Skyr (just read that online, so I know it’s true).
When I was in Iceland, skyr was served every single morning. Plain. You could stir in jams, cereals, etc. but most Icelanders enjoy it as is. Needless to say I ate skyr every single day I was in Iceland. I was already a consumer of it before going last year but I certainly didn’t have it every day!
When I ran into a recipe on Food and Wine for Honeyed Yogurt and Blueberry Tart recipe I instantly thought that it would be better with skyr, being skyr crazy and all. A side benefit of using non-fat skyr, there was no need to drain it like you would need to do to get a thicker Greek yogurt. The original recipe used a graham cracker crust with some crystallized ginger in it. As a ginger fanatic, I decided to up the ginger game and use gingersnaps as my crust (I’ve done this many times before).
Once the crust was done and the skyr in place, it was time to do the blueberries. Do you know how long it takes to carefully place and line up each and every blueberry? Between a husband, two dogs, my stepson and my godson, apparently too long…
Carefully arranged blueberries.
I didn’t want to leave the candied ginger, that he original recipe called for, out of it (hello! ginger fanatic) so I used it as garnish along with some lemon zest for a bit of a fresh pop. What I ended up with a tart that tantalizes the taste buds! Layers of flavor and texture. For a crispy crust it’s best consumed the day of but I can tell you, leftovers were just as tasty.
The base tart is a great springboard for other fruit like raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb. Because the skyr is nice and firm you could probably spread some jam over the top too. Skyr comes in different flavors if you want to experiment, make sure you stick with the non-fat variety for best consistency.
- 2 cups Gingersnap cookie crumbs
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg white
- 2 cups non-fat Vanilla or Coconut Skyr
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries (9 ounces)
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped (optional)
- Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- Fresh mint leaves (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 14-by-4 1/2-inch rectangular fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray, or 8 individual tart pans. In a food processor, pulse the salt until finely ground. Add the butter and egg white and pulse until the crumbs are evenly coated. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan(s). Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Let the crust cool completely.
- Spread the Skyr in the crust and arrange the blueberries over the surface of the Skyr. Garnish with crystallized ginger, lemon zest and mint leaves. Cut the tart in slices and serve.
- Tip-The baked crust can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature overnight. Which makes this a great brunch dish too.
Long time! Trying to catch up and reconnect with long ago bloggers. (Have a bit more—read tiny bit—of time on my hands now. Need to back track on your blog and see what the heck is happening! 🙂 Love a good ginger snap crust and those blueberries are perfectly lined up!