One of the most wonderful fruit pairings I can imagine is that of ripe, fresh figs and tart, fresh raspberries; the phrase culinary harmony comes to mind. For this elegant (and easy) dessert idea, I used a store-bought pie crust and the fresh fruits to make a rustic Italian crostata.
Similar to a French galette, a crostata is simply a rustic fruit tart that can be either savory or sweet, and filled with whatever your heart desires. To the fruit I added a touch of orange flower water, a smidge of cane sugar, and fresh thyme leaves for a lemony, herbal taste. On the crust I sprinkled buttery pine nuts to help round out the Italian nature of the dessert. This decadent dessert is perfect when served on its own, but I can see a scoop of vanilla gelato going nicely, or even a dollop of mascarpone or vanilla-scented ricotta cheese.
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Rustic Fig & Raspberry Crostata
Ingredients:
- (1) flat pie crust (store-bought or homemade)
- olive oil spray
- 1/2 lb. fresh Black Mission figs, stems removed and figs quartered (if you can’t find fresh figs, feel free to use dried, halved figs)
- 1 pint fresh raspberries, washed and patted dry
- 1/8 cup granulated organic cane sugar
- 1 Tablespoon A/P flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon orange flower water OR 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a round pizza pan or large baking sheet with parchment paper; spray with the olive oil spray. Roll the pie crust round out onto the sprayed baking sheet. In a mixing bowl gently combine the figs, raspberries, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, orange extract, and thyme leaves. Pour the filling in a mound shape in the center of the pie crust round, leaving about a 2 1/2 -inch border. Gently fold the edges up in a casual manner around the mound of fruit.
- With a pastry brush, brush some of the remaining liquid from the fruit bowl onto the folded-up edges of the crust. Press the pine nuts into the crust area. Bake on the middle rack in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbly and the crust lightly browned. Allow the tart to sit for 10 minutes before serving warm.
Tagged: Black Mission figs, crostata, dessert, fig and raspberry tart, figs, figsf, fresh figs, fresh raspberries, fresh thyme, fruit tart, galette, Italian, Italy, orange flower water, orange liqueur, pine nuts, Raspberries, raspberriesf, rustic fruit tart, rustic tart, vanilla extract
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