It's peach season. Time to pull out your rolling pin and celebrate the juicy stone fruit with the free-form pastry known as a crostata.
Unlike a pie, which requires some fancy finger work and precision rolling, this flat, rustic summer dessert is a breeze to prepare. After a brief chill in the fridge, the pastry is simply rolled out in whatever shape you like — circle or rectangle, your choice — topped with a pile of fresh fruit, and then the edges are folded up and over some of the sugary slices to make a crust. If it's misshapen, no worries: that's part of the dessert's charm for both the eater and the baker.
It's finished when the fruit is bubbling and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, and the crust is fragrant, golden brown and slightly crispy.
