I've been growing figs for more than 50 years! In fact, I have about a dozen fig trees in my yard. Several are from cuttings propagated from trees at my parent's home and one fig tree is from a cutting of a fig tree in Monticello! I like to think Thomas Jefferson and I enjoy delicious figs from the same tree...
Crostatas
I'm a fan of 'fruit' desserts... peaches, apples, berries, figs etc.. baked in tarts, crisps and cobblers. I've recently traveled to Italy and learned about crostatas.
I've been preparing amazing crostatas with a variety of summer fruits from my garden.
A crostata is a tart-like pastry, assembled in more of a freeform style. There is no tart or pie pan used.
Crostata literally means 'to encrust' and is a traditional Italian tart generally filled with fresh, seasonal fruits.
Crostatas can be sweet or savory; the crust is simply rolled out, then the center if filled with fruit and the dough is folded up and loosely crimped around the fruit to hold the filling in the center.
I remember baking something very similar to a crostata with artichokes and herbs while practicing to take the CMC exam. (inspired by an Alice Waters recipe)
Fruit crostatas are delicious with coffee and sprinkled with powdered sugar. I also love warm fruit crostata topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Prep Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 25 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
Pastry Dough
6 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Cup AP Flour, sifted
1/2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp Ginger, ground
1 Tbsp. Almonds, ground
3 Tbsp Cold water if needed
Filling
2 Cups Figs, peeled & halved
4 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Bourbon or Gran Marnier (optional)
2 Tbsp. AP Flour
1 tsp. Orange zest
1 tsp Vanilla
How to Prepare the Crostata
Step 1
To prepare the filling, place the fruit into a bowl. Add the sugar, orange zest and spices; stir gently to blend.
Add the flour and incorporate using a rubber spatula. The flour helps to bind the juices which purge from the fresh fruits.
Fruits such as berries or figs do not need to be cooked but fruits with more texture such as apples, rhubarb, pears etc... need to be peeled, cut and cooked in butter to soften.
You can also add a tsp of Bourbon or Grande Marnier if you like.
Step 2
Grate the cold butter into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, flour, spices and ground almond; blend together with a fork to create a dough-add a little water if needed.
Roll the dough to about 1/8" thick, I like to roll the dough on a cutting board sprinkled with a little sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to add flavor and avoid sticking.
Step 3
Place the dough onto a buttered sheet pan, spoon the fruit filling into the center of the dough and fold/ crimp the dough around the filling.
Place the crostata into a preheated, 350°F oven.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned on top.
You can enjoy warm with ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream-but I love having fruit crostatas with coffee for breakfast.
