My book, the Joy of Plenty, is the story of how I learned that a pantry full of basic staple ingredients plus a few fancy extras were the keys to freedom in the kitchen. Sometimes a special, fresh ingredient arrives on the scene, much like a guest artist who accompanies a symphony. The special ingredient combines with the repertoire of food I already have on hand and orchestrates a dish that has symphonic flavor.
That ingredient could be fresh trout or salmon, just picked lettuce or . . . like last weekend, rhubarb. I opened my door to see a little pile of it sitting on my doorstep, a surprise from reader David Hudson. What to make? A crisp!
I started with a basic crisp recipe. Blend butter, brown sugar, oats and vanilla. I had just bought a bag of almond flour so I added that along with a few tablespoons of einkorn flour. Rhubarb needs a lot of sugar and in the interest of trying something new, I used a cone of panela sugar (a common ingredient found at Mexican grocery stores or in the Mexican section of a grocery store; the sugar has a lovely, complex flavor). I started to grate it but that was too tedious. So I put the cone in a pan with a little water and dissolved it into syrup. Then, I remembered Theresa’s fruit pie secret. Make a roux with flour and butter, then stir in fruit juice and thicken the pie with that. I cooked the roux, added apple juice to the sugar syrup and made a sauce. Next, I cut the rhubarb into small pieces and then remembered the blueberries and peaches in the freezer. I mixed the fruit with the sauce, Ceylon cinnamon and lemon juice. Suddenly, the thought of a nap lulled me, so, I napped! When I woke up, my first thought was “coconut”. I added a cup of toasted coconut to the topping and then, touché, my crisp felt complete. The following measurements are approximate; remember I was winging it! Tune into your senses and you can wing it too. You can make almond flour in the blender; just grind them up.
Healthful Fruit Crisp
Topping:
½ cube salted, softened butter
½ cup brown sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups oats
¼ cup flour
Filling
½ cube butter, melted
¼ cup flour
8 ounce cone panela, melted into syrup
½ cup fruit juice
6-8 cups fruit
2 tsp cinnamon
Splash of lemon
Bake at 350⁰ for an hour or until the crisp bubbles around the edges. Serve the crisp warm with cream and see how a guest artist can make your pantry shine.