Summer Fruit Crostata

***The fresh fruits of summer have to be one of the best things about the season...That is, if you love to cook and eat them, of course!  This crostata from Ina Garten was a fabulous way for me to use up some of the fruit from our local farmer's market.  I loved the combination of peaches, plums and blueberries.  It was perfection, along with the scrumptious homemade pastry that wrapped the fruit up in a warm flaky blanket of a crust!

The beauty of a crostata is that it doesn't have to look perfect.  There's something charming and rustic about the way this dessert comes out.  The dough is folded over the fruit in a way that looks refreshingly homemade.  It looks, smells and tastes like something you just want to dive into...The perfect ending to a yummy summer meal!

Bon Appetit!***


Summer Fruit Crostata
Source:  Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten

Ingredients:
For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas):
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) ice water


For the filling (makes 1 crostata):
1 pound firm ripe peaches, peeled
1/2 pound firm ripe black plums, unpeeled
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced


For the pastry:
Directions:
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.


For the filling:
Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.


Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.