Apple Crumble with Raspberry Jam

    It’s been a few years since I started this blog now and I just realized that one of my favorite recipe is missing.
And such a well-known one….! The Crumble…..
Of course you have thousands of variations on the crumble and I have mine as well but I keep it pretty simple and if you happen to be short on almond powder and/or can’t find raspberries, just deal without it! Replace almond with flour and raspberries by whatever you like and maybe just a couple more apples!
What we need to keep in mind is just that we want to enjoy the combination of the crunchy crumbs and the melting cooked fruits….!

Ingredients for 8-10 people

For the fruit base:

• 12-14 small cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters or cubes
• 100g of butter
• 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 400g of raspberries fresh, frozen or in a jam (in that case, don’t put the sugar and reduce the honey to 1/3 cup)
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• the seeds of a vanilla pod

For the crumble:

• 200g of butter cut into dices
• 200g of almond powder
• 200g of flour
• 75g of sugar

Method:

In a large pan, melt the butter and start to cook the apples on medium heat.
Add the honey, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla seeds and cover with a lid. Stir from time to time until the apples start to soften.

In the meantime, prepare the crumble mix. In a bowl, mix together by hand all the ingredients until you obtain nice crumbs. If you keep working the mix it will become a dough. You have to stop just the step before.

Preheat your oven to 180.
When the apples are slightly cooked, pour them in a oven dish. Add the raspberries or raspberry jam on top and swirl them in or cover them with some more apples.
Layer evenly the crumbs on top and bake for 30-40 minutes until the top gets a nice golden brown color.

Serve it hot or cold with cream, ice-cream or custard.

Crumble Pommes Framboises

Ingredients pour 8-10 personnes

Pour la base aux fruits:

• 12-14 petites pommes pelées, coupées en quartiers ou en cubes
• 100g de beurre
• 100ml de miel ou de sirop d’érable
• 120g de sucre
• 400g de framboises fraiches ou surgelées ou en confiture (dans ce cas, retirez le sucre et réduire la quantité de miel à 75ml)
• 1cc de cannelle en poudre
• les graines d’une gousse de vanille

Pour le crumble:

• 200g de beurre coupés en dés
• 200g d’amandes en poudre
• 200g de farine
• 75g de sucre

Méthode:

Dans une grande casserole, faites fondre le beurre et commencez à cuire les pommes en ajoutant le miel, le sucre, la cannelle et la vanille. Couvrez et laissez cuire sans trop remuer pour éviter l’effet compotée et garder le fruit intact.
Préchauffez votre four à 180°C.
Préparez le crumble. Dans un saladier, travaillez à la main tous les ingrédients jusqu’à obtention de grosses miettes, les crumbles. Si vous travaillez trop le mix, vous obtiendrez une boule de pâte et si vous ne le travaillez pas assez, le mix sablera mais ne formera pas de petites boules.
Répartissez les pommes dans un plat allant au four et dispersez les framboises ou la confiture à la surface. Incorporez-les en sillon à l’aide d’une cuillère ou recouvrez-les ensuite d’une autre couche de pommes.
Dispersez ensuite les crumbles à la surface pour obtenir une couche homogène.
Faites cuire au four 30-40 minutes jusqu’à ce que la surface prenne une jolie coloration dorée.
Servez chaud ou froid, avec de la crème, de la glace ou une crème anglaise.

The Moorish Salad….. crunchy and yummy….

As we enjoy a lovely hot summer in London…. (cause of the rain my coat and jeans were so wet they were not even dry when I finished cooking this afternoon….. I hate having to wear wet jeans….!) …. I thought you’d enjoy a salad recipe….

I found this one in one of Jamie Oliver’s book and I really like it because it’s colorful and very tasty.

• 300g of carrots
• 150g of radishes
• 2 apples – jazz or pink lady
• 1 handful of sultanas or dried cranberries/cherries
• 1 handful of flat parsley
• 1 handful of mint
• 4 tbsp of red wine vinegar
• 8 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of tahine
• 2 tbsp of black sesame seeds

In a baking tray spread your sesame seeds and toast them for about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool down. You can use white sesame seeds or both black and white, I use black just because it looks really nicer….!

Peel the carrots and cut them into a fine julienne about 6 cm long. If you have a mandoline, you’ll save a lot of time, if you don’t, be patient or get them grated in your food processor (the carrots won’t be as crunchy as they should be but it’s fine). Keep them in a bowl of fresh water to prevent them from drying if you decide to assemble the salad later.

Wash the radishes, cut the edges and thinly slice them.

Wash your herbs and chopped the parsley then cut your mint into chiffonade.

Wash the apples, core and quarter but don’t peel them. Cut them into thin slices or into julienne and cover them with the juice of a lemon so that they don’t get brown.

Finally, prepare the sauce: blend the vinegar, tahine, olive oil, salt and pepper. Adjust to tour taste. I sometime add a drop of Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce and a little bit of lime juice.

In a container, mix the carrots, radishes, apples and dried fruits with the dressing and in a large bowl or on a large serving plate dress the salad. Start with a layer of veg and fruits, sprinkle some herbs and sesame seeds then add another layer of veg & fruits…. finish with herbs and sesame seeds as a decoration.

This is a perfect salad for buffet or brunch but can also be used as a starter, served on individual plate.