Theme: End of Summer
One of the best parts of summer is spending an evening outside, barbecuing with friends, and sipping sparkling cocktails while you feast on the year’s best corn, berries, and tomatoes. Often, the produce looks so inviting at the farmer’s market that we tend to go a bit crazy and buy way too much, especially as summer comes to a close. (A panic sets in that soon cool air will arrive and our freckles will disappear.) This menu series is our ode to the end of summer and features ingredients that won’t resurface – in their prime – until next year. Right now, we’re focusing on our plum and raspberry crostata with vanilla gelato recipe.
Plum and Raspberry Crostata with Vanilla Gelato Recipe
Using the oven on a hot day might seems like a waste when you have a grill, but this sweet and tart bubbling dessert is worth the extra few degrees in your kitchen. If you’re pressed for time (or just don’t feel like bothering), substitute the homemade dough with store-bought puff pastry – the end result will still be delicious.
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Half a teaspoon salt
One stick (1/4 lb) unsalted butter, cold and diced
A lemon, zest and juice reserve
1/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons oats
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced
3/4 lb plums, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch slices
3/4 cup raspberries
One lemon, zest and juice reserved
1 orange, zest and 3 tablespoons of juice reserved
1 pint vanilla gelato
Directions:
Add flour, sugar, salt, and butter to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the butter is the size of chickpeas. Add ice water and pulse an additional few seconds. Dump dough onto clean work surface dusted with flour. Form a disk, wrap tightly with Saran, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425˚F. Roll out dough on a sheet of parchment paper until it is about 1/4–inch thick. Place dough and parchment onto a sheet pan.
Add flour, oats, sugar, and butter to food processor. Pulse for a few seconds until mixture is the texture of a very coarse meal.
In a large bowl, add plums, raspberries, lemon zest and juice, and orange zest and juice. Place in center of dough and evenly spread out, keeping a 1 1/2–2-inch border. Sprinkle with oat mixture and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with gelato and powdered sugar, if desired.
After making our plum and raspberry crostata recipe, try these next:
Red Wine Gelato: A Taste of Italy
Yogurt Parfait with Blueberry Compote & Fresh Peaches Recipe
