Peach, Strawberry, and Rhubarb Crostata

Summer is the season of fresh, bountiful produce and finding creative ways to celebrate and enjoy the warm weather. I suggest using the crostata or galette as a vehicle to make use of your fruits and vegetables. This can help reduce waste, make room in the fridge, and whip together a quick meal if you have the pastry ready to go. You can apply this to both sweet and savoury - check out some galette recipes on the website, including Tomato, Thyme and Cheese, Pumpkin, Caramelized Onion, Blackberry, Mint and Ricotta, Cheesy Mushroom Galette with Ricotta and Gruyere, and Asparagus, Snap Pea, and Blue Cheese Galette.

In case you were wondering, “crostata” is essentially the Italian version of a (French) galette, not much of a difference, if any! 

I decided to use three in-season fruits/vegetables. Namely, strawberries, peaches and rhubarb! They are a great balance of tartness and sweetness. The lemon, passion fruit, cinnamon, and other spices in the poaching liquid for this recipe will infuse complementary flavours into your filling. You can adjust the sugar depending on your sweetness tolerance; as well as the layering of the filling - you may want to add a few extra pieces on top of each other. This is the number one reasons why I love crostatas, these free form, open face pies are super customizable.

Ingredients

1 large peach, sliced into segments

1 large rhubarb stalk, cut lengthwise then into diagonal diamond-like shapes

1/3 cup strawberries, sliced in half, tops removed

4 cups passionfruit cocktail or fruit nectar (enough to cover the

2 lemon slices

3-4 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

2 cinnamon sticks

2 anise stars

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1/3 cup cane sugar

2 tablespoons fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sliced almonds

1 pie crust of your making/choice

Egg wash (1 egg + cream)

Turbinado sugar

Ice cream

Instructions

Start by simmering the poaching liquid in a pot deep enough to submerge the fruits/vegetables. Add the passion fruit cocktail, ginger, lemon slices, zest, vanilla extract, almond extract, balsamic, cinnamon and anise on low heat.

Add the sugars and mirin. Once the sugar dissolves, add the fruits and heat for about five minutes. Don't overcook! Remove from the pot, eat and strain — keep the liquid. You can cook it down with butter and make a drizzling sauce.

Arrange the rhubarb, peaches and strawberries in the center of the pie crust, leaving the outside rim of at least 1-2 inches. Fold them over, then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle some almonds and sugar, then bake at 400F for or until the crust is golden brown.

Serve warm with ice cream and eat immediately.

Blackberry, Mint and Ricotta Galette

Recently I shared a recipe for a savoury galette choke-full with juicy tomatoes and a creamy cheese mixture. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s here.  That was probably one of my favourite meals this season, and it was super simple to make. I should have been putting these free form pastries together long ago and more often!

Speaking of which, I like to cook with what is fresh and in season. Not only do you get better quality and cheaper goods, but there are likely fewer pesticides used on fruits and vegetables consumed at their peak.

I knew I wanted to do something with berries, and the galette inspired me - a sweeter type anyway! 

This version is muddled with mint leaves to give it some freshness and compliment the berries, sweetened with honey, sugar, with a bed of ricotta cheese underneath. You can serve this galette for brunch, or after lunch or dinner. This will impress your guests for sure!

Originally I wanted to use mulberries for this recipe, which are native to Africa, Asia, and Europe. I grew up eating these berries, partly because we had two trees in my back garden to pick from! I made mulberry jam quite often or took them to school to share with my classmates who had silkworms (they love mulberry leaves). However, I never made any sort of pasty for some odd reason (not that I made this puff pastry sheet from scratch).

One recurring memory I have when it comes to mulberries is the grave warnings I would receive about getting them all over my clothes and risk losing them forever! Mulberries STAIN like crazy.

Some people may think they are the same as blackberries but they are two entirely different plants. Close enough for this recipe though. Blackberries are rounder in shape and grow on thorny bushes, mulberries are long and grow in trees. Both have great health benefits and are supple and delicious as most berries are. They are loaded with antioxidants, fibre, and help with inflammation.

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar

12 ounces blackberries, rinsed

4 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

2 tablespoons honey + extra for brushing

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 sheet puff pasty or pie crust, thawed at room temperature

2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt crystals

1 heaped teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

Rinse the berries and pat dry, transfer to a large bowl.

Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons mint, 1/2 teaspoon salt, thyme, and the cornstarch. Mix until the berries are evenly coated.

In a smaller bowl, add the ricotta cheese, remaining mint leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt, honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, mix well. 

Spoon the ricotta mixture over the centre of the puff pastry sheet, leaving about an inch of a border around the edges. Top with the berries, leaving any liquid residue in the bowl.

Fold and crimp the edges over the outside berries to create your galette. Brush the edges with some honey, then top with the rest of the cinnamon sugar and sprinkle some sea salt crystals. Pierce a few tiny holes with a fork to help the pastry breathe as it bakes. 

Bake in a 400F oven for about 30 minutes, checking to make sure the puff pastry has baked and browned.

Garnish with icing sugar and mint leaves. Serve as it is, with fresh cream or ice cream!