Peach Crisp

 

Ingredients: Filling // yellow peaches, organic cane sugar, all-purpose flour

Crumble topping // toasted pecans, brown sugar, cane sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, unsalted butter, kosher salt

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I used Alice Waters' very simple crisp recipe for this incredible dessert (perfect for 4th of July bbqs!). I've never poached fruit before and it was necessary to poach the peaches slightly in order to remove the skins. The skins slide off very easily after placing the peaches in a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds. I couldn't believe how bright and colorful they were underneath (see photo above). Some variations to this peach filling are to add blackberries, blueberries, or even raspberries to the mix; for other seasons, you can use apples & pears (fall), or cranberries & orange zest (winter).

The crumble topping was super simple; it was just a matter of throwing everything into a bowl and dicing up the butter (very cold) into cubes and adding them to the mixture. You then just massage and mix the topping with your hands until it becomes crumbly and no longer sandy and loose. 

Pour the filling into a ceramic baking dish (make sure you pick a nice one since you'll be serving out of this dish - you could also use individual ramekins for this recipe) and then sprinkling the crumble topping on top, covering as much of the filling as possible. Line a flat baking sheet with some parchment paper and place your baking dish on top - some of the juices will spill over in the oven while baking. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 mins and you're set.

Alice Waters suggests serving this crisp with a cold heavy cream or a crème anglaise - I'm a fan of both, especially with some whole vanilla beans added for flavor. Even better, just top with a scoop of simple vanilla ice cream and serve.