summer fruit crumble

The great thing about fruit crumbles is you can throw them together quickly—the ingredients for the topping are probably in your cupboard already, so all you need is a visit to the farmers’ market to pick out whatever fruit is in season. I used apricots and strawberries here, but you can use apricots, peaches or plums alone or combined with cherries or other berries instead of strawberries. You just need 3 pounds of fruit total to fill the dish. Cut it into chunks or slices about an inch big and you’re good to go. You can even make a pie if you are feeling ambitious.

ingredients

1-1/2 pounds apricots (or other fruit, see above)
1-1/2 pounds strawberries (or other fruit, see above)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch salt

topping
3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or cardamom (optional)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature, plus additional to grease the dish

vanilla ice cream or Greek yogurt (optional)

directions

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Rinse and pat the fruit dry. With a paring knife, cut apricots in half and discard the pit, then cut each half in half again or into quarters, depending on size. Hull strawberries and cut into halves or quarters, depending on size (you want pieces about 1-inch in size). Put fruit in a big bowl and sprinkle with the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Mix well until all the traces of cornstarch are dissolved; set aside while you make the topping (the fruit will get juicy while it stands).

To make the topping, in a small bowl mix the oats, brown sugar, almonds, ground ginger or cardamom (if using) and salt. Cut the butter into slices and add to the oat-sugar mixture. With a pastry knife, a fork, or your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture clumps together. Set aside.

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish with additional butter. Spread the fruit mixture in the pan, then drop the topping over the fruit in clumps; don’t worry about covering every inch of fruit. Bake until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving; the fruit juices will thicken as the crumble stands. Serve warm or at room temp, with scoops of vanilla ice cream or yogurt if desired.