This is a beautiful and delicious tart, starting with an Italian-style sweet crust, then a thin almond layer and finally an abundance of scarlet berries, both fresh and cooked.

You need really ripe, tasty, evenly shaped berries to make this tart. It works best with medium-sized berries, not the giants that are used for dipping in chocolate.

the pastry crust:

2 2/3 cup flour, more for the board
6 oz. unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/3 cup sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup Marsala or sweet wine

the filling:

1 cup almonds
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg white
8 quarts beautiful, ripe strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

To make the pastry, combine the 2 2/3 cup flour, the butter, 1/3 cup sugar and lemon zest in the container of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolks and Marsala or wine and process again until the pastry begins to hold together in a rough ball. Take it out, shape it into a thick round, and chill it, well-covered, for about an hour.

Sprinkle a large board with some flour and roll out the pastry to a circle about 1/4" thick. Lay the pastry carefully into a 12" false bottom tart pan and trim the edges with a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, leaving a rim about 3/4" above the edge of the pan. Fold this extra bit down and press it lightly into the side of the pan, allowing the rim of the pastry shell to be thick and to rise at least 1/4" above the pan. Crimp the rim or notch it with a knife if you like, and poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork.

Chill the tart shell for at least half an hour, then line it with foil and add a layer of dried beans or rice as a weight. Cover loosely with foil and bake the shell at 375° for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the almonds, 1/2 cup sugar, and the almond extract into the food processor and process until the nuts are coarsely ground. Add the egg white and process for a few seconds only.

After 25 minutes in the oven, take the pastry shell out, remove the beans and foil, and spread the almond paste evenly over the bottom. Return the shell to the oven, again covering it loosely with foil to prevent the edges from burning, and bake it for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the almond layer feels pretty dry to the touch and the crust looks golden. Remove and cool.

Wash all the strawberries, and set aside two-thirds - the prettiest ones - to leave whole. Combine the remaining berries with the half cup water and whirl them in a blender until they are a rough puree; you should have about 2 1/2 cups pureed berries.

Trim the stem ends of the whole berries with a knife, to make a flat edge, and arrange them cut-side down over the almond layer of the tart. You should have enough to cover the tart in one layer.

In a medium sized, non-reactive saucepan, combine the remaining cup of sugar, the cornstarch and the salt. Add the pureed strawberries and stir until the sugar and the cornstarch are dissolved, then simmer over medium heat until the mixture becomes clear and bright red.

Stir in the fresh lemon juice, and spoon the glaze evenly over the whole berries in the tart. Chill the tart for about an hour before serving.

Serves 10.