- 1/4 cup ice water
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 14 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 nectarines, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- In a small bowl, combine the ice water, egg yolk and vinegar. In a food processor, pulse the 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of flour with the cornstarch and salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of peas. Sprinkle on the egg mixture and pulse just until a soft dough forms. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and roll it into an 8-inch log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a saucepan, bring the sugar, water and vanilla bean and seeds to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat. Add the lemon juice and nectarines; let cool.
- On a lightly floured work surface, cut the pastry log into sixteen 1/2-inch slices. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out each slice to a 3-inch round and transfer to the baking sheets. Drain the nectarines and arrange on the pastry rounds, leaving a border all around. Fold the border up and over the nectarines, pleating the edges; the tartlets should be about 2 inches wide.
- Bake the tartlets for about 25 minutes, until they are golden and bubbling; shift the pans halfway through baking. Let cool and serve.