Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Nectarine crostata


Since we have an abundance of stone fruit available in the shops at the moment (none left on our trees unfortunately) I decided to make this dessert last night.
The recipe (from Taste magazine Feb 08) was actually for a peach crostata (a rustic Italian tart) - I substituted nectarines.

Pastry:
3 cups plain flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
350g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
2 egg yolks
iced water

Topping:
6-7 nectarines
1 Tbsp orange zest
1/4 cup brown sugar
Juice 1/2 orange

Make pastry, either in a food processor or - since my food processor is buried in storage - like I did by hand. Mix flour and sugar, then add cubed butter and rub in with finger tips. Add egg yolks and 2 Tbsp iced water, mix (with fork or knife) to distribute. Turn out onto floured surface and bring together gently into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic film, chill for at least 30 mins.

Roll out to fit a rectangular baking tray, patching any holes, make a bit of a crust at the edges. Prick with a fork. Blind bake for 10 mins at 200deg C.

Cut nectarines in half remove stones and place skin side up on the pastry. Mix zest, sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Brush over fruit, bake for 25mins at 190degC. Brush remaining sugar mix over pastry, nectarines and return to oven for a further 10-15mins until pastry is nice and brown.

Delicious!

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