This is a variation of a crumble, with a crispier top and saucy filling. The original recipe is by American cook Ina Garten, she makes it with apples and pears. I had only pears [below], but have made it with other combinations of hard fruit and it has always worked. It’s one of those hero recipes which can bear variation and rough-making and still tastes fantastic. The secret saucy ingredient? The juice and zest of oranges and lemons [below] combined with a little flour. I have reduced the amount of sugar in Ina’s recipe, simply by substituting fructose and agave syrup. For the filling:-
5 medium pears
Grated zest and juice of a large orange
Grated zest and juice of a large lemon
A squeeze of agave syrup or other fruit syrup
35g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly-ground nutmeg For the topping:-
210g plain flour
150g fructose
165g sugar
½ tsp salt
140g oatmeal or rolled oats
225g cold unsalted butter, diced [but I used Flora Buttery] Peel and core the fruit, cut into large chunks and place in a bowl. To the bowl, add the fruit juice, zest, flour, agave syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix thoroughly and pour into a shallow baking dish. To make the topping, combine the flour, sugar, fructose, sugar, salt, oatmeal and Flora in a large bowl. You can use a food mixture to blend this together, but my mother taught me to mix crumble topping by hand and that’s what I still do. This is a sticky mixture, not dry like a traditional crumble. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet, and bake in a hot oven [about 200°C] for 30-40 minutes. It is done when the top is browned and the fruit is bubbly. We ate our first bowl steaming hot with a large spoonful of Greek-style natural yogurt. 5 to remember
una pera – a pear
puede soportar – it can bear/stand
el héroe – hero
el ingrediente secreto – the secret ingredient
la ralladura – zest [of citrus]