Peach & Pecan Crostata

Peach & Pecan Crostata
Makes 2 crusts // Makes 1 crostata to serve 4

It’s time to liberate pecans from the Thanksgiving pie! The earthy, nutty, sweet notes of toasted pecans pair beautifully with summer’s favorite stone-fruit. Here we’ve added ground pecans into the pie crust itself for extra depth of toasty pecan flavor.

We recommend purchasing our Baker's Box to make this recipe.

Pecan-Flecked Pie Crust:
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
18 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
5-6 ounces ice cold water

For the Crostata:
4 cups (16 ounces) peeled and sliced peaches (from about 3 large)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pecan pieces
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Combine pecans and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until finely chopped. Remove ¼ cup of pecan-sugar mixture and reserve for later. Add flour and salt to the remaining pecan-sugar mixture and pulse to combine. Add cubed butter and pulse a few times again, until the butter is the size of peas. Slowly add cold water and continue to pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Scrape the dough onto a clean counter or work surface and press together gently with your hands until the dough comes together without crumbling. Divide in half and shape into two disks. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days (or freeze for 1 month).

Preheat oven to 400˚F. In a large bowl, mix together peaches, reserved pecan-sugar mixture, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla seeds or extract.

When you are ready to make the crostata, remove one round of pie dough from the refrigerator and let sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature until it is just soft enough to roll. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with flour. Place the dough on the center of the parchment and roll into a rustic circle about 11-inches in diameter and ¼-inch thick. Transfer onto the baking sheet.

Mound peach filling onto the center of the prepared dough, leaving about 2-inches bare around the edge. Fold up edges rustically around the peaches and top with pecan pieces. Brush the pie crust with egg wash and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is thick and bubbling, about 1 hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.