Summer’s just about over, y’all. We still have summer’s bounty available to us but it won’t be long until sweet peaches and berries are replaced with figs, pears, apples and fennel. I like using summer fruits until the very last moment of their season. Buckles, cobblers and crostatas are the perfect way to use these hot weather treasures, changing them to include whatever is sitting in your fruit basket. Right now I have oranges, tomatoes, peaches and shallots. I pretty much always keep a cryovac block of guava paste on hand because it’s such a great, sweet addition to appetizers and desserts. Guava and peaches marry beautifully together. They are truly a match made in heaven, both fruits complement the other. A simple, rolled out pastry crust later and you’ve a gorgeous, lush dessert. With this crostata it’s best to use peaches which are firm. Ripe peaches give off too much juice causing the liquid to leak out of the crust while baking. That same liquid will burn and scorch under and around the pastry giving your no-longer lovely delicacy a strong, bitter taste. So go for under-ripe fruit rather than over-ripe. The sweet peach flavor will still come out during baking. In a pinch a store-bought pie crust may be used with good results. If you are making the pastry by hand, do allow sufficient time for it to chill and rest in the refrigerator otherwise you’ll have one tough crust. I know. I learned the hard way…pun intended. A scoop of vanilla ice cream melting alongside or a dollop of cold, whipped cream is crazy good with this crostata. Enjoy the last fruits of summer!
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 2-4 tablespoons ice-cold water
- 7 ounces guava paste, cut into 1/2″ cubes
- 3 medium size peaches, sliced 1/2-3/4″ thick. I get about 10 slices out of each peach
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half of a small lemon)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 egg, well beaten
- shimmer sugar, crystalized sugar or conventional sugar to garnish
- To make the pastry, place flour and 1/4 cup sugar in food processor and pulse until blended.
- Add 1/2 cup cold, cubed butter and pulse until the butter pieces are the size of peas.
- With the motor running, drizzle 2 tablespoons of water into flour mixture, slowly adding 1 tablespoon at a time if needed, and process until the mixture barely forms a ball. There should still be loose flour and random pieces of dough on the bottom of the bowl.
- Transfer dough to plastic wrap, gently pat into a disc and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Pre-heat oven to 425°, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set baking sheet aside.
- Lightly flour counter, rolling-pin and dough disc on both sides and roll out dough to a 14″ to 16″ round. If it’s not perfectly round, don’t worry it’ll bake off beautifully.
- Transfer dough to baking sheet and evenly cover dough with cubed guava paste leaving a 2-3 inch rim all around the circumference of the dough.
- Toss peach slices with lemon juice then toss the slices with the 1/3 cup of sugar and cornstarch.
- Cover guava cubes with the peaches still leaving the rim without fruit.
- Gently fold the dough rim up evenly around the fruit leaving about a 6-7 inch circle of fruit exposed.
- Tuck the 2 tablespoons of butter into the corners of the fruit around the top of the crostata.
- With a pastry brush, a clean paint brush or your fingers, brush the beaten egg over the pastry rim. Discard excess egg.
- Scatter sugar over the top of the crostata and bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden. Rotate baking sheet at the 20 minute mark.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes, cut into wedges and serve warm.
The Irreverent Kitchen 