SERVES 8
This crumble is a great way to turn ripe, seasonal fruit into a beautiful dessert. Most crumble or crisp recipes call for tossing the fruit with sugar and adding sugar or another sweetener to the topping. In this recipe, we rely on the natural sweetness of the fruit in the filling and blend golden raisins into the topping to sweeten it. The finely chopped raisins are barely noticeable. Because this recipe has no added sugar and is high in fiber, it can also make for a good breakfast, especially if paired with plain yogurt for additional protein.
½ cup whole-grain flour of choice, such as buckwheat or spelt
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup raw nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans (or dried, unsweetened coconut)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon or ground ginger (optional)
¼ teaspoon other warm spice such as nutmeg or cardamom (optional)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, or 4 tablespoons coconut oil
5 cups thinly sliced fresh, sweet, seasonal fruit such as apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, or whole berries of choice. Be sure to leave the skin on the fruit to retain the fiber. If the berries are tart, try combining them with another fruit. (5 cups is around 8 small peaches, 5 medium apples, or 4 medium pears.)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Put the flour, raisins, nuts, salt, and spices into the food processor and process until the raisins and nuts are chopped finely.
3. Cut the cold butter into chunks, add it to the food processor, and pulse it a few times until the butter is cut into small, uniform pieces that resemble pebbles.
4. Put the fruit mixture into an unbuttered baking dish, 9-inch round or square, 2 inches deep.
5. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The fruit should be bubbling.
7. Uncover and bake 8 to 15 minutes more or until the topping is browned.
8. Allow to cool slightly and serve.
9. Refrigerate any leftovers. This also tastes great cold.
VARIATIONS:
Dairy-free/vegan version: Replace the 6 tablespoons butter with 4 tablespoons coconut oil.
Nut-free version: Replace the nuts with dried, unsweetened coconut.
Gluten-free version: Use buckwheat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
NUTRITION FACTS PER SERVING: Calories 250 Total Fat 16g Protein 4g Total Carbohydrate 25g Dietary Fiber 4g Total Sugars 15g Added Sugars 0g
*Note: recipe analyzed with peaches and almonds.