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Misadventures in crumble
By Ann | September 9, 2008
I’m not sure where I got the idea that a crumble/crisp dessert was “foolproof” but I can now assure you this is not true. Perhaps I should known things were not going to go smoothly when I purchased some rhubarb at the market and asked (in my mauvais francais) for 200 kilograms instead of 200 grams. Of course, the produce guy was totally tickled by my mistake and kept repeating “200 kilo! 200 kilo! If I sold you that much rhubarb, I could go home for the whole day!” Actually, it was kind of amusing, and then we had a nice conversation about where I’m from (no, not Japan) and where he’s from (Normandy).
Anyway, roughly following the recipe for Apple-Rhubarb Crisp from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I combined 2oo GRAMS of chopped rhubarb with 2 peaches (peeled and sliced) and 1 1/2 cups or so of fresh strawberries. I added a cup of sugar (this turned out to be far too much) and 1/2 cup flour. So far, so good.
Bittman’s Sweet Crumble Topping calls for butter mixed with flour, oats and brown sugar. Alas, I did not have any brown sugar, and so I substituted white sugar. This turned out fine, except for one flaw — the crumble wouldn’t turn golden. After baking for 45 minutes, the fruit bubbled red, and the crisp was golden-ish (sorry I forgot to take photos). It looked okay, though far from perfect, and aside from being too sweet was a serviceable dessert. I’ve made better crisps, however — the “Seattle crisp” from Marion Cunningham’s Learning to Cook comes to mind. I’d file this recipe in the “wouldn’t try it again” category. Sorry, Mark Bittman.
Topics: Cooking the Books |
One Response to “Misadventures in crumble”
Comments
« More meatless meals | Home | Dining Out and About: Chez Omar »
September 29th, 2008 at 10:48 am
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/plum-and-peach-crisp-recipe.html
I made this one a few weeks ago and it was super delish! (hyper delicieux?)
ps- ‘not japan’. lol.