Crumble For The Gs

It is blueberry season on the Rocky Coast.  There are boxes of fresh picked blueberries everywhere.  Whether you are heading North or South on Route 1, there are people sitting under canopies to avoid the scorching sun, waiting for passersby to pull over and buy a quart of their prized blueberries.  So we did just that. 

Coincidentally, UD is heading to Massachusetts this weekend to play golf with some long time golf buddies of his.  Our friends, the Gs, offered to put him up, which was very generous.  I wanted to do something nice for them, so I decided to make blueberry crumble and send it south with UD.  Hopefully they will all enjoy it.

I pulled a page out of the Food Network magazine for this recipe.  It is really nice, because it shows you how you can choose different nuts, and fillings, to create a crumble that will best suit you and your friends and family.  The first time I did it was for the kids.  They really love blueberries, and again, it was blueberry season.  So I went with the blueberry filling.  But they have examples of other fillings, which I will include at the end.

You will need:

3/4 cup of chopped pistachios (or walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts)
1/2 cup of rolled oats
3/4 cup of flour
1/2 cup of light brown sugar
a pinch of salt

7 tablespoons of room temperature butter (one tbls short of a whole stick)

4 cups (1 quart) of blueberries
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons cold cup up butter

A large and medium sized mixing bowl
An 8" x 8" baking dish, buttered

I do two things early in the day.  The first is to take a stick of butter out of the fridge, and let it come to room temperature.  And the second is to get two tablespoons of cold butter, cut it into a bunch of small pieces, and return it to the fridge until it is needed.

Then later in the day, rinse the blueberries and pick out any stems or leaves that may have been left behind, and lay them out on a clean dish towel.

Once the blueberries have dried a little, you can make the filling.  Put the blueberries into the large bowl.  Add 1/3 of a cup of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.  Toss these all together.

Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish, and dot the top of the blueberry filling with the cold cut up butter. 

Now the topping.  In the medium sized bowl, put in 1/2 cup of rolled oats.  Add 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 of a cup of light brown sugar and a pinch of salt.  Whisk that all together.  Then add the chopped pistachios. 

Now add the 7 tablespoons of room temperature butter.

Mix this all together until it is well combined and crumbly.  I usually mix it with a large fork, and then I get in there with my hands to finish the job.  Messy but effective.

Now place the topping all over the blueberry filling.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, for 40 to 45 minutes.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving, and top with whipped cream or ice cream, if you like.

This is going to the Gs in the morning, so I am going to let it cool off completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap.  Enjoy Gs!

Here are some of the other filling combinations I mentioned before.

Apple-Raspberry - Peel 3 pounds baking apples (such as Macoun or Cortland); cut into 3/4-inch chunks.  Toss with 2 cups of raspberries, 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch each of nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.

Plum-Nectarine-Blackberry - Halve and pit 4 nectarines and 2 plums (no need to peel); slice 1/2 inch thick.  Toss with 2 cups blackberries, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour.

Pear-Pineapple - Peel 3 pounds baking pears (such as Bartlett); cut into 3/4-inch chunks.  Put the pears in a skillet, and combine with 3 cups of pineapple chunks, 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and cinnamon.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring, 12 minutes.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour; cook 1 more minute.

Quince-Grape - Peel 3 pounds of quinces; cut into 1-inch chunks.  Put the quince in a skillet and toss with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/3 cup of water and a pinch of salt.  Cover and cook over medium heat, sirring occasionally until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in 1 pound seedless red grapes and 1 tablespoon of flour; cook 1 more minute.

I think next time I will try the Plum-Nectarine-Blackberry.  :)

A bientot!  See you soon.