With only one week until the 4th of July and the Summer Solstice in the rear view mirror, you might think that The Kitchen Scout and her family are in full-on summer mode.
I wish. This winter, there were a lot of those little white flecks we call Snow, with a capital S which also stands for Shortened Summer.
Students and teachers are literally “sweating in the 80’s” as they navigate exam schedules and grade final papers in steamy classrooms across our town.
But today, we shall celebrate! Yes, today, June 27th our younger daughter will take two final exams and walk out of school into the humid embrace of summer! Finally, people!!!
And of course, celebrations require dessert.
Gorgeous piles of stone fruits are starting to appear at local farmstands right now. Peaches, nectarines and plums of all varieties are on display, waiting to be eaten alone or baked into a pie, crisp or crumble. Green cardboard boxes, harbingers of freshly picked, local berries are filled to the brim with juicy strawberries and blueberries so tempting, they may not last the car ride home.
The combination of peaches and blueberries may be my favorite of all time. My Mom used to slice up peaches and toss them with blueberries and a hint of sugar to include with our summer breakfasts. Yum.
I could have made and shared Ina Garten’s dangerously delicious Peach and Blueberry Crumbles recipe. But, I figured you might already know about that one.
No, I was determined to find something just a little bit different and perhaps a little lighter on the sugar.
Scouting around, I found a recipe for Martha Rose Shulman’s Peach (or Nectarine) Blueberry Crumble with Quinoa-Oat Topping and knew this was the one to try.
My friend, Jane, the Events Manager at Wellesley Books had just asked me if I knew of Ms. Shulman whom she was looking to book as a speaker. I knew of her, but hadn’t made any of her recipes. So, her name popped out during my recipe search which was fortuitous because her crumble is a delicious twist on the traditional.
Ms. Shulman uses just a little bit of honey or dark agave to sweeten the fruit and bakes the combination in the oven without the topping for about 25 minutes.
For the topping, Shulman makes it gluten free by combining GF rolled oats and quinoa flour with richly flavored (and less processed) turbinado sugar and butter. She cleverly bakes the topping on its own for about 15 minutes and then finishes it off with the fruit. This cooking method allows the topping to remain crisp and crunchy, just the way I like it. All of these ingredients are now available at your local supermarkets by the way.
I made the dish twice and had lots of taste testers, some of whom have Celiac disease or gluten intolerances and some of whom do not. We all agreed the recipe was a winner and I think this may be my go-to crumb topping moving forward! Just as dangerously delicious as Ina’s!
I did tweak Ms. Shulman’s recipe the second time by adding just 2 more tablespoons of butter to the topping. I mean, if you are going to use 6 tablespoons of butter, you might as well use the whole stick, right? I thought the topping held together a little better, but it certainly worked with 6 tablespoons if you want to cut it back.
I hope there are some celebrations in your life that require dessert.
But, you should make this on a regular old Tuesday in my humble opinion.
Happy Summer!
Recipe adapted by the addition of 2 Tablespoons of butter. Original recipe from Martha Rose Shulman.
Ingredients
- Filling Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds peaches or nectarines
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 Tablespoons mild honey or dark agave nectar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (can use all vanilla extract if desired)
- Crumb Topping Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats (gluten free if desired)
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix together the peaches or nectarines, blueberries, honey or agave nectar, cinnamon, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl. Cover and let sit for one to two hours, in or out of the refrigerator. (You can make the quinoa-oat topping while the filling is sitting).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a two-quart baking dish. Scrape the fruit and all of the juice in the bowl into the baking dish. Set the baking dish on a baking sheet for easier handling, and place in the oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the liquid syrupy.
- Remove from the oven, and spread the crumble topping over the fruit mixture in an even layer. Bake 20 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment. Place the oats, quinoa flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter, and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed throughout the grain mix. The mixture should have a crumbly consistency. (Note - I prefer doing this mixing by hand because I like the texture of the oats when they are not processed. I think the topping overall has a better consistency).
- Spread the topping over the parchment-covered baking sheet in an even layer. Place in the oven, and bake 10 minutes. Rotate the pan front to back, stir the mixture and bake another 5 to 10 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool. You can keep this in the freezer for several weeks in an airtight container or freezer bag.
Tips from The Kitchen Scout
While the filling is sitting, you can mix and bake off your crumb topping as instructed. Store any unused quinoa flour in the fridge for best results.
This recipe is delicious – I’ve made it twice, but I have to say, I’ve had the hardest time finding Quinoa flour. I ended up just making some out of Quinoa I had (which seemed to work). I’m not sure if there is a substitute that would taste as ‘nutty’ but if there is I’d love to know.
Hi Kate! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the recipe! I believe I have found it both at Donelan’s and at Debra’s. Whole Foods is also an option. If you can’t find it, you can try almond flour which has a nice flavor/texture to it. I will look around in my travels for you as I don’t have any in my pantry now!
Hi Kate, just to follow up – I did see Quinoa flour at Crosby’s recently and I believe also at Donelan’s. I hope you can find it and use the topping for some fall fruit combinations! – Valerie
I like your thinking and whole heartedly agree about using a whole stick of butter instead of 6 Tablespoons… less measuring!
Looking forward to trying this crumble, thanks for scouting it out for us.
You’re welcome, Bredt!
We have a gluten-free family member and Valerie was kind enough to bring us a sample of this crumble — totally delicious! Just the right combination of sweet and tart, and you would never know it was gluten free. I will attempt to make this over July 4th. Thank you Val!
You’re welcome, Sarah! Thank you for taste-testing for me!