Peach Crostata

You can use yellow or white peaches for this recipe. It’s a great recipe to make when you have lovely overripe peaches hanging around.

INGREDIENTS

900g ripe peaches (about 5-6 medium), cored and quartered

¼ cup honey

1 tbsp. plain flour

1/3 cup almond meal

1 egg, lightly beaten

PASTRY

2 cups plain flour + extra to dusting

1-2 tbsp caster sugar

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

¾ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, use good quality)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

METHOD

1.       Make pastry. Process flour, olive oil, sugar and salt in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add eggs and pulse until pastry comes together, adding a tablespoon of cold water if needed. If you don’t have a food processor, in a mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt.  Then add in olive oil using a fork until resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in beaten eggs until the mixture forms a dough. Turn out onto a clean surface and shape into a disc. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and allow it to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

2.       Preheat oven to 180ᵒC/160ᵒC fan. Adjust oven shelf to the lowest rack. Remove pastry from fridge and have a large oven tray ready

3.       Place the quartered peaches in a large bowl and toss them in the honey, plain flour and almond meal (this absorbs some of the liquid). Set aside peaches until needed

4.       Place two large sheets of baking paper on bench top. Dust one sheet lightly with plain flour and top with chilled pastry. Cover with the other sheet of baking paper. Roll pastry out between baking sheets to form a 25 cm x 40 cm oval

5.       Remove top sheet of baking paper and transfer pastry on bottom baking paper to the large oven tray. Spoon peach mixture over pastry leaving a 5 cm border around the edges. Fold pastry edges in, pleating as you fold to partially cover fruit

6.       Brush pastry border with egg. Bake on lowest rack of oven for 50 minutes or until peaches are soft and pastry is golden