Grappa Soused Summer Fruit Recipes

Steps:

• For the pastry:
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly (and carefully!) with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, roll it into a ball, cut in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. If you only need 1 disk of dough The other disk of dough can be frozen.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to the baking sheet.
• For the pastry (makes 2 crostatas) .
• For the filling:
• Cut the peaches and plums in wedges and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the orange zest, and the orange juice. Place the mixed fruit on the dough circle, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
• Combine the 1/4 cup flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts to hold together. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the fruit, pleating it to make an edge.
• Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. Let the crostata cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer it to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a blender, combine all the ingredients, except the sugar, and blend well. Standard blender jars probably won't fit all the ingredients so blend in batches. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher. Add sugar (or your preferred sweetener) to taste, adjusting for your own preference and based on how sweet the fruit is to begin with. Add enough ice to your liking. As an option, you can garnish with a piece of an ingredient in the agua. For example, a sprig of rosemary, a stick of cinnamon, or slices of lemon. Pour into ice-filled glasses.

Steps:

• Spray the grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare the barbecue (medium-high heat). Thread 1 piece of each fruit on each of 6 skewers so that the cut sides line up and lay flat. Sprinkle the sugar over the cut sides of the fruit. Let stand until the sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.
• Place the fruit skewers on the grill cut side down. Grill the fruit until it is heated through and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Transfer 1 fruit skewer to each plate and serve.

Steps:

• Line loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang at each end. Purée melon with 1/3 cup sugar, grappa, grenadine (if using), and salt in a blender until smooth. Transfer to large metal bowl and stir in yolks. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with mixer until pale, thick, and tripled in volume and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 minutes.
• Remove bowl from saucepan and set in a large ice bath. Continue to beat until cold, about 6 minutes.
• Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in other large bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into cantaloupe mixture gently but thoroughly.
• Pour mixture into pan and freeze, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until firm, at least 5 hours. Uncover top and invert semifreddo onto a plate.

Steps:

• Place sugar, grapefruit zest and juice, lemon juice, and salt in a medium saucepan along with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour. Strain and discard solids. Transfer syrup to an airtight container and keep refrigerated until ready to use, up to 2 weeks. To serve, fill a 16-ounce glass with ice cubes and add 1 1/2 ounces syrup; top with seltzer and stir to combine.