Once you've made a crostata, you'll never make a pie again. They're simple, versatile and supremely delicious.

In this recipe, I use peaches and blackberries for a taste of true Americana. When I was growing up in Seattle, we'd fill the back of the family Oldsmobile station wagon with buckets of blackberries, which became my favorite fruit forever.

Now, I'll settle for whatever's freshest wherever I happen to be when I feel like pie. With this recipe, you can easily substitute any fresh fruit or jam. I'm in Michigan for the summer, so it would be a crime not to use pitted fresh local cherries in July and cherry jam in the winter.

In my book "Molto Batali," I serve this dish after a meal of turkey porchetta, fried radicchio and radishes. But it goes just as well with barbecued chicken and corn on the cob. It is the perfect dessert for any summer barbecue.

If you're feeling really adventurous, cook the crostata on the stone of a wood-fire pizza oven to obtain that slightly burnt savory crust.

James Beard Award-winner Mario Batali, a Seattle native, is a chef, restaurateur, author and TV personality. His latest book is "Molto Batali."