Stone Fruit Bruschetta with Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
from Elise Fineberg formerly of Taste CateringServes 9
INGREDIENTS:
For the Sweet Crostini
1 Sweet baguette
½ c Bariani olive oil
½ c Vanilla extract
¼ c Granulated sugar
For the Stone Fruit Salad
2 peaches or nectarines (or a combo of them)
6 plums or apricots (or a combo of them)
1 lemon
8 mint leaves (about 2 sprigs)
⅓ c granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
For the Crème Fraîche
1 qt Cowgirl Creamery Crème Fraiche
1 qt Buttermilk
2 ½ c Granulated sugar
⅔ c Lemon Juice
½ t Salt
PREPARATION:
For the Sweet Crostini
Pre-heat oven to 350º.
Slice baguette into pieces ¼” – ½” thick.
Combine olive oil, vanilla and sugar in bowl.
Add baguette slices and toss to coat them evenly.
Lay out on parchment paper lined sheetpan and bake for about 10 minutes, or until slightly golden.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Yield: About 45 pieces
For the Stone Fruit Salad
Wash all of the stonefruits, the lemon and the mint sprigs.
Cut all of the stonefruit into cubes, roughly ½ ” x ½” x ½” and combine in bowl.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel one half of the lemon. Add the strips of peel and the mint leaves to the fruit mixture.
Add the sugar and vanilla to the mixture and gently toss together.
Let the mixture rest and marinate for at least 10 minutes.
Heat a sauté pan over high heat.
Add fruit mixture to dry, hot pan, and quickly sauté to warm the fruit through.
Empty fruit salad onto plate or half sheetpan to cool.
Remove lemon zest, vanilla bean pod and mint leaves. Discard.
You can use as few or as many varieties of stone fruits for this recipe as you’d like. Just keep in mind the sizes of each type, not to exceed 2 big pieces of fruit and 6 small ones to yield 1 quart of finished product.
For the Crème Fraîche
Combine the crème fraiche, buttermilk, sugar, lemon juice and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk together until very smooth.
Churn according to ice cream machine manufacturer instructions
Putting it all together
Pull leaves from mint and make a stack. Cut them (short ways) into thin strips. This is called a chiffonade. Arrange crostinis on cutting board. Spoon 1 teaspoon stone fruit salad onto one side or each crostini. Spoon 1 teaspoon softened crème fraiche ice cream onto the other side. Arrange a few strips of mint on top of the salad. Serve.