Peach and Plum Crumble

I have some family and friends coming to dinner tonight. a few are gluten-free and a few are vegan, most eat anything :). I have the main meal sorted out. We are having a taco bar featuring grilled vegetables and fish and fresh salsas. For dessert I made a crumble.

I wasn’t going to do a blog on the crumble, it seemed too pedestrian to bother. But then I thought it might be a nice idea to share. I love any dish that is more than a sum of its parts. Like aioli (egg, oil, acid, garlic) or bread (flour, water, salt). A crumble falls into that category for me, roasted fruit and a crunchy topping. Very simple, but luxurious when done right. The fruit has to be perfect to start with then, cooked to perfection. An under-cooked crumble is a sad thing, to me at least. I want the fruit to release its natural juices. Under-cooked fruit is neither fresh, or luscious, just a waste IMO.

This is a really forgiving ‘recipe’. You can change it for your dietary needs and personal taste. I made mine vegan and GF.

Preheat oven to 350F

Start with 4 perfectly ripe peaches and plums cut up into bite size pieces. Put fruit in a skillet or cake pan.

Next, use a food processor to pulse the rest of the ingredients

⅓ cup whole rolled oats
⅓ cup toasted chopped nuts, any kind
¼ cup flour (any kind): oat, whole wheat, all purpose, or a gf blend
⅓ cup any kind of sugar. I used brown
½ teaspoon cinnamon or spice you like. I used allspice.
3 tablespoons butter, vegan butter, or hardened coconut oil

Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top and bake until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is soft, about 40-45 minutes.

Crumbles and pies take a bit longer to cook at our higher altitude. Lots of recipes will give much shorter cooking time. Be patient and make sure the fruit has released it juices.