For the Frock & Fig’s inaugural post, I’m going literal with a proper tea dress and a black mission fig and peach crostata. Don’t worry though, this blog won’t be all flounces and  Ficus carica – I’ve been known to don a pair of trousers and cook a steak too.

The Frock

I celebrated a friend’s birthday last weekend with dinner at Grano up near Davisville. It was a gorgeous evening and we had the private dining courtyard in the back to ourselves, where we ate alfresco in the warm summer air. I’d planned to wear a new bright blue form fitting Zara dress but the weather was so warm I changed my mind at the last minute and went with this breezy little number. This sundress is so comfortable and versatile – I’ve worn it to a wedding and even to work smartened up with a cardigan and belt. The only real accessory it needs is a tan though, so I kept it simple here with fine gold jewelry and flat sandals.

Dress – Modcloth

Bag – Aldo

Sunnies – Dolce & Gabbana

Black Mission Fig & Peach and Pluot Crostatas

My boss and I had a lunch meeting at Balzac’s this week and we walked back to the office through the St. Lawrence Market. She bought some black mission figs and sent me home with a half dozen. I’ve been dreaming about Forno Cultura’s beautiful crostatas which are baked in a long fluted rectangular pan, so you can slice off a tidy little tranche at a time. I’d recently picked up such a pan from Williams Sonoma and decided to try it out using the figs as well as some Ontario peaches and pluots which are at the height of their season.

I started out by mixing the pie crust and chilling the dough – you can use any recipe, I like Crisco‘s as it’s straightforward (and on the box!). I put my mixing bowl, wire whip mixing attachment and granite rolling pin in the freezer before starting – this will help make your pastry flaky. Then I went to work thinly slicing the peaches and figs.

Next I mixed up a half cup of sugar, one tbsp cornstarch, one tsp cardamom, one tsp lemon juice, and the zest of half a lemon. I added this to the peaches (not the figs – they’re too fragile) and let them macerate about 15 mins while I prepared the crust.

I rolled out the dough, slipped it into the pan and layered in the peaches and figs. I made a fancy top crust using pie crust cutters from Williams Sonoma – see similar ones here – and glazed it with egg yolk and sugar.

40 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees F and I had a beautiful golden crostata.

I had some extra dough and peaches so I threw together a rustic version as well.

I also made one with pluots, omitting the cardamom but adding some fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

x Dana