Peach Crostata

Translation:

Get a peach that is not too ripe; if it hard it will do quiet a bit better than if not.  Peel if and cut it into slices. Have a tourte pan ready, lined with its three sheets of dough and its twisted around it, greased with butter or rendered fat, and sprinkled with pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar and with raisins and crumbled Neapolitan mostaccioli.  On all that, set out the peach slices and on top of them put the same ingredients as are under them.  Cover the pan over with three thin sheets of dough, with rendered fat or butter brushed between each; sprinkle that with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake it in an oven or braise it; it does not take to much cooking because it would disintegrate into a broth.  Serve it hot, dressed with sugar and rosewater. (Scappi, p. 466, R. 63)

Ingredients:

Scappi Royal Crust – 6 sheets rolled thin.

1 ripe peach (if your torte pan is large add more peaches)

1 C. gold raisons

1 C. melted butter

½ tsp ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg

¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

½ C. Sugar

Redaction:

First, I made the crust using Scappi’s royal crust recipe from pp 488-489.  The link is here for the break down on my website https://roxalanasredactions.com/category/the-opera-of-bartolomeo-scappie-1570/scappi-royal-crust/ 

Roll out 6 sheet thinly that will go into your greased torte pan.  I personally used a small cheesecake tin so I could display the sides easily.  A small pie tin would work or a regular pie tin.  Use what you have.

Next, I selected a peach that was firm and smelled of peach.  I find smelling a peach helps me to find those fruits that are ripe when they give off the heavenly scent of peach.  (I cheated slightly and used more than one peach.)

To skin a peach, you will need to boil the peach for 3 seconds in hot water,

then dipped into an ice bath for 10 seconds. 

The skin should peel off quickly and easily.  My peach skins peeled off but not very neatly. 

After that, I sliced up the peach and set aside to gather the rest of the ingredients.

For the reason I used gold raisons is that I adore the flavor.  To me, it’s like wine in firm fruit form.  I could devour these daily.  Dark raisins are nice, but golden raisins are amazing.

Scappi has a recipe called “For a Flakey Pizza” that is also a dry napoleon.  I made this prior to the peach crostata.  Once cooked I sliced and pounded roughly ¼ of it into crumbs.

I had to use the mortar and metal for the pepper.  Easily done.  You maybe wondering why I say use only ¼ (or even less) on the pepper instead of the ½ tsp like the other spices.  Originally, I used ½ tsp of ground pepper and the lingering burn of fresh pepper overwhelmed everything else!  Go ¼ tsp or less, let my error be your guide!

Lay your first layer down in your pan, butter it up! 

Next add the 2^nd layer then the 3^rd.  I’m not sure what Scappi wanted with the twisting.  I think…that there is a crimping to the edges to keep them together and at the end.  My take, yours may be different. 

Sprinkle out your spices under the peaches, raisins and flakey napoleon crumbs mix and sprinkle more of your spice mixture on top. 

Add the remaining layers of dough, buttering (and spicing if you desire) between each.  I added sugar and rose water to the final layer.

It was amazing!  The crust sort of slid off when trying to palate from the fruit mix and lower layers. This is where the crimping/twisting comes into play. Twist the layers together so they stay together next time!