I love my cookbooks. When separated from them, I find myself thinking of a recipe I'd like to make which is undoubtedly followed by a sigh and an, "Oh yes, it's in that cookbook I don't have with me." Of course, our happy reunion is always followed by baking or cooking. This time I decided to bake a recipe I've been wanting to try for a long time - the Summer Fruit Crostata in Barefoot Contessa's
At Home cookbook (p. 203).
It was the perfect recipe to end summer and with which to begin fall; fresh and sweet with a touch of tartness all wrapped up in a flaky crust. It would be amazing served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, too! It's also much easier and less 'fussy' than a normal pie because it doesn't use a pie plate, you simply bake it on a cookie sheet and wrap the edges of the crust up over the fruit - no crimping necessary (which is good for me, because I can't crimp a pie crust to save my life!).
My recipe differs from Ina Garten's in that I substituted raspberries for her blueberries. It worked great and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. There was a lot of juice left in the bowl after mixing all the fruit and orange juice together, so I'd use a slotted spoon and try to leave as much juice behind when scooping the fruit into the crust - it juices out quite a bit even with leaving juice behind!
Peach Plum Raspberry Crostata
For the Pastry (makes 2 crostatas - freeze one if you're only making one crostata)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced
6 T ice water
1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add cold, diced butter and quickly (and carefully!) toss with your fingers to coat cubes with the flour mixture.
2. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour mixture until mixture is well combined (will be thick). Add the ice water, a few tablespoons at a time and mix in completely with the pastry cutter, until the all six tablespoons are well-incorporated. Be careful not to overmix the pastry so it will stay light and fluffy!
3. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut it in half, and form it into two flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you only need one, freeze the second.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
5. Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the sheet pan.
For the Filling (makes 1 crostata)
1 pound firm, ripe peaches, peeled
1/2 pound firm, ripe black plums, unpeeled
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
1 T all-purpose flour
plus 1/4 cup flour
1 T granulated sugar
plus 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. grated orange zest
2 T. freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
4 T. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1. For the filling, cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the raspberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest and the orange juice. (to make the peaches easier to peel, dip them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then immediately submerge them in cold water, and then peel)
2. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1-1/2 inch border.
3. Mix the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in a bowl. Add the four tablespoons cold, diced butter and mix with a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
4. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.
5. Bake the crostata for 20 - 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use two large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack (if it juiced over while cooking, it may be easier to slide the crostata, while still on the parchment paper, to the wire rack and remove from the parchment paper once cool). Serve warm or at room termperature.
Serves 6. Enjoy!
