This Stone Fruit Crostada with Rye Crust is born of many different influences. I love stone fruit season and have been waiting all Summer to do a Peach and Plum dessert. Initially, I thought you might be getting a crisp of some sort, but then I read a really lovely recipe that called for a crust with rye flour in the mix. I loved the dark color and the idea of a more savory and substantially flavored crust. Color me intrigued, right? And as a seasoned lover of rye breads (hello, Swedish Limpa anyone?) I figured I ought to add some almond flour in the mix just to up the Scandinavian ante. The dough was very forgiving and easy to work with and this endeavor definitely turned me on to working with rye flour again in the future with desserts. I’m already scheming on all sorts of citrusy combinations for winter. But I digress. Back to the stone fruits. I have been making tons of refrigerator jam this Summer, and I had some plums at the perfect stage of going bad. Sweetening fruits with jams has long been a favorite sweetening strategy of mine and you get that double whammy of fruit flavor! And of course, as you may know if you’ve ready my apple pie recipe, I love layering flavor by using many different types of the same fruit. So here, I used six different plums, two nectarines, and a peach. Each bit brings on a slightly different texture and flavor that keeps you on your toes. Despite its rustic and humble appearance, this Stone Fruit Crostada with Rye Crust is a playful and complicated dessert.
- 3 peach and nectarines (I used white and yellow)
- 6 plums (bring on the variety; I found my new favorite plum, it’s green)
- [6-8 cups of fruit total- this recipe is very forgiving]
- ½ lemon; juiced
- 1 cup plum jam (make your own refrigerator jam* or store bought)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla paste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup extra sugar to taste (I didn’t use any, but it wouldn’t be crazy)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup rye flour
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons cold unsalted butter; diced
- 3-5 tablespoons cup ice water
- In the food processor, pulse the flours, sugar, and salt.
- Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-size pieces of butter still visible. Add the ice water and pulse until the dough just starts to come together; you should still see small pieces of butter. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and gather it together. Form into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until well-chilled (1 hour or overnight).
- When you’re ready to make the Crostada, slice all the fruit in half. Remove the stones (here's what to do if one splits).
- Then slice into thin wedges. Throw in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice, jam of your choosing (this is the main sugar of the recipe), vanilla paste, pepper, flour and any extra sugar. Toss well until everything is coated.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. On a lightly floured parchment paper or silicone baking sheet, roll out the dough in a circle until it hangs over the narrow sides of the baking sheet by two inches on each side.
- Spoon the plums into the center of the round, leaving a 2 inch border all the way around.
- Fold the dough border over the filling, leaving the center exposed.
- Transfer the parchment or silicon back onto a baking sheet. Bake the crostada for about 45 minutes, until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbling. It should look dark, much darker than standard crust. Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve with crème fraîche, sorbet, or ice cream.
- I served it with raspberry rosewater sorbet** and the Lemon Verbena Sheep’s Yogurt Ice Cream I’ve been teasing, which I think looks so gorgeous in this photo that I'm shamelessly posting a bonus closeup on the ice cream.
Vanilla would be great too.
** Want to make the sorbet? Take 1 pint store bought raspberry sorbet, half a pint of blood orange sorbet, and 2-3 teaspoons of rose water and blend them in a blender. Pour it back into the containers and let freeze for a couple of hours. Easy does it one the rosewater. It’s easy to let it get perfume-y. For more detailed description check out my Rose Raspberry Float post.
