so i’ve been on a quest this summer to assemble the perfect fruit crisp recipe (it’s rough for my friends and family, i know, having to eat all these summer desserts). after H provided me with links to a number of good recipes this past week i had an opportunity to try my next iteration of the Perfect Summer Fruit Crisp recipe out at the Keenans’ bbq this past weekend. after tinkering with this, this and this, here’s what i assembled:

peach blackberry crisp

topping:
3/4 c brown sugar
2/3 c unbleached flour
1/2 c polenta
1/2 c quick-cooking oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh-ground nutmeg
8 Tbs salted butter
1/2 c chopped walnuts

filling:
6 small peaches
1 pint black berries
1/2 pint blue berries (optional – i just filled out w/ blueberries because blackberries were so expensive)
juice of two small lemons
1/3 c sugar
1 tbs corn starch

to serve:
vanilla ice cream

to prepare:

preheat oven to 350.

whisk together lemon juice, cornstarch and sugar together till mixture is smooth.
peel and slice peaches, wash berries.
toss together with lemon juice mixture.

roast walnuts on a hot frying pan for 3-4 minutes, till they smell warm.
mix dry ingredients for topping together except walnuts.
with a pastry cutter or food processor, cut in butter into small crumbles.
add walnuts to mixture.

place fruit in a ceramic baking dish, top with the crumble topping.
bake 30 min, till top is browned and fruit seems soft (especially if you’re using under-ripe peaches like i was).

serve warm (let cool 10-15 minutes) with ice cream.

post-mortem:

this is getting closer to the perfect crisp recipe that i have in my head. some adjustments & notes for next time:

-more cornstarch – the fruit released too much juice
-less sugar in the fruit mix – ripe summer fruit didn’t need much
-the extra lemon was great
-higher brown sugar:flour ration in the topping. check what the ratio was in the coffee cake my mom used to make when i was a kid – that was perfect, whatever it was.
-try it maybe w/out the oats? nice flavor but too many texture things going on with the polenta as well
-polenta lent an interesting crunch/texture. not everyone was a fan, (once i said the word polenta people reacted in a less positive fashion than they did when the didn’t know what they were eating) but no one was dead set against it, and i did like how it stayed crunchy.