Peach and Amaretti Crostata

As much as I wish for the heat to go away leaving space to more pleasant weather conditions, I know that at the same time that passage will inevitably mean summer's over and autumn has stepped in.
In terms of food it has it's advantages. Freshly baked bread will smell again in my kitchen and keep company to a bowl of minestrone or other soups.
But... how long will it take to taste and smell delicious summer fruit again? Whole long autumn and winter, and most of spring. Phew!!! better have a few more fruits while they're still available.

This recipe is a little different from a typical crostata, because part of the butter in the crust is replaced with cream cheese, and there are no eggs. Very good result I must say. Both in terms of taste and aspect.
The only problem is that it doesn't keep well, one day maximum, so make sure you have a hungry company when you make it. It won't be difficult.
Amaretti cookies (a type of almond cookies) pair perfectly with peaches, but if not available you can substitute them with e.g. lady fingers or some other type of cookies. They'll absorb part of fruit juices leaving the crostata crust drier.

Peach and Amaretti Crostata

Crust:
* 160 g cream cheese
* 160 g flour
* 80 g butter (softened)
* 1-2 TBspoons sugar
Filling:
* 2 big peaches + 2 plums  (or 150 g mixed berries)
* 2 TBspoons sugar
* 2 teaspoons lemon juice
* 10 amaretti cookies

Put the flour, the cream cheese, the sugar, and the softened butter in a bowl. Bring everything together and mix quickly with your hands only to form a soft dough. Wrap it and let chill in the fridge for 1 or 2 hours.
Put the peaches shortly into boiling water (1 minute or less, depending on how ripe they are). Drain them and peel. Once they are cool, cut them in half, remove the stones and then slice them.
Do the same with plums, peel and slice them.
Mix the sliced peaches with plums, add the sugar and the lemon juice.
Roll the dough out very thin (3 mm) between two pieces of parchment paper. Transfer the dough (with the bottom paper on a flat baking pan (or line a round crostata pan).
Sprinkle the amaretti cookies over the dough leaving the 3-4 cm empty border.
Place the sliced fruit over the cookie crumbs.
Gently fold the edges of the crust up and over the fruit.
Bake the crostata in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 30-35 minutes or until golden.
Let it cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

* I divided the dough in two parts and made two smaller crostatas, one with peaches and the other one with the mixed berries (frozen), and both were delicious.

Crostata con pesche e amaretti


pasta:
* 160 g formaggio spalmabile (tipo Philadelphia)
* 160 g farina 00
* 80 g burro
* 1-2 cucchiai di zucchero
per farcire:
* 2 pesche grandi + 2 susine (o 150 g di frutti di bosco)
* 2 cucchiai di zucchero
* 2 cucchiaini di succo di limone
* 10 amaretti


Mescolate la farina con lo zucchero, formaggio e burro ammorbidito. Formato un impasto morbido, avvolgetelo nella pellicola e lasciatelo riposare in frigo per 1 o 2 ore.
Incidete le pesche e tuffatele per 1 minuto (o meno) nell'acqua bollente, poi spellatele e tagliatele a spicchi. 
Spelate e tagliate a spicchi anche le susine. Mescolate le pesche e susine in una ciotola con lo zucchero e succo di limone.
Stendete la pasta sottile (3 mm) tra due fogli di carta da forno.
Trasferite la pasta stesa (insieme al foglio di carta) su una placca da forno.
Sbriciolate gli amaretti e metteteli al centro lasciando i bordi di circa 3-4 cm liberi.
Distribuite la frutta sopra e ripiegate i bordi verso l'interno.
Cuocete la crostata nel forno già caldo a 180°C per circa 30-35 minuti.
Lasciatela raffreddare e spolverate i bordi con lo zucchero a velo prima di servirla.

* Ho diviso la pasta in due parti e preparato due crostate più piccole perché volevo provarla sia con le pesche che con i frutti di bosco. Tutte e due erano buonissime, solo che ho esagerato un po' con i frutti di bosco e la crostata si è aperta in cottura.

Crostata s breskvama i amarettima


Tijesto:
* 160 g krem sira (npr. Philadelphia)
* 160 g mekog brašna
* 80 g maslaca
* 1-2 žlice sitnog šećera
Nadjev:
* 2 velike breskve + 2 velike šljive  (ili 150 g šumskog voća, svježeg ili smrznutog)
* 2 žlice šećera
* 2 žličice soka limuna
* 10-ak amaretta (keksića) ili piškota


Stavite sir, brašno, 1-2 žlice šećera i maslac (malo omekšan na sobnoj temperaturi i narezan na listiće) u zdjelu i zamijesite brzo glatko tijesto. Ne mijesite previše, pa čak ako i ako se vide manji komadići maslaca, u redu je.
Zamotajte tijesto u prozirnu foliju i ostavite u hladnjaku 1 do 2 sata.
Breskve zarežite u križ na vrhu pa ih stavite 1 minutu (ili kraće) u kipuću vodu. Izvadite i ogulite. Ako su breskve jako zrele nekad ih se može lako oguliti i bez kuhanja.  
Prepolovite breskve, izvadite im koštice i narežite ih na ploškice. Šljive također ogulite i narežite.
Pomiješajte ih u zdjeli s 1-2 žlice šećera i 2 žličice limunovog soka.
Razvaljajte tijesto tanko (3 mm) u krug, na malo pobrašnjenoj dasci ili još bolje između dva komada papira za pečenje.
Stavite tijesto na ravan pleh (zajedno s donjim papirom) ili u kalup za crostate (ako koristite kalup neka tijesto prelazi rubove).
Pospite središnji dio tijesta izmrvljenim amarettima (ostavite prazan rub od 3-4 cm), a preko njih stavite voće.
Preklopite prazan rub tijesta preko voća.
Ispecite crostatu u pećnici zagrijanoj na 180°C, oko 30-35 minuta, odnosno dok ne porumeni.
Ohlađenu crostatu pospite šećerom u prahu i poslužite.


* Ja sam tijesto podijelila na dva dijela i napravila dvije manje krostate, jednu s breskvama, a jednu sa šumskim voćem (koja mi se u pečenju otvorila, pa nije baš bila idealna za fotografiranje, ali jednako ukusna)
** ako nemate amarette (koji se odlično slažu s breskvama) možete namrviti npr. piškote ili neke slične suhe kekse.