Peach Blackberry Crisp

I realize that this is the fourth recipe for some form of fruit crisp on my blog. I think that makes it quite clear where my dessert loyalties lie. This version comes from Alice Waters' cookbook called The Art of Simple Food.

If you're wondering why I made this seasonally summer recipe in late February, there are two reasons. First, I am eagerly anticipating spring and summer. We're almost to March - soon asparagus and even strawberries will start appearing, and I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I needed something to tide me over. I looked in my freezer and saw that I still had peaches from a CSA box we received last summer, as well as wild blackberries we had picked and frozen. This recipe struck me as a perfect way to use clean out the fridge as we start a new growing season.

Note: You could also use 4 pound of peaches, or substitute nectarines; use raspberries or blueberries instead of blackberries; and so on.

Peach Blackberry Crisp

3 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch slices plus 1 cup blackberries (about 7 cups of fruit)

Toss with:

1 T. sugar (if needed)
1 1/2 T. flour

Pile the fruit into a medium baking dish and top with Crisp Topping (recipe below). Bake in a 375 oven for 40-55 minutes (rotate once while cooking for even browning) or until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling in the dish.

Crisp Topping

Toast in a 375 oven for 6 minutes:
2/3 c. nuts (walnuts, almonds or pecans)

Let cool, then chop coarse.
Put the chopped nuts in a bowl and add:

1 1/4 cups flour
6 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. white sugar
1/4 tsp salt (leave out if using salted butter)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Mix well, then add:

12 T. (1 1/2 stick) butter, cut into small pieces

Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture comes together and has a crumbly, but not sandy, texture. Chill until ready to use. Crisp topping can be made ahead and refrigerated a week or so, or frozen for 2 months.

Peach Blackberry Pie

I read an article recently on Mission Pie, a company based in the Bay area. They shared (some of) their pie secrets, some of which surprised me greatly. For instance: They use whole wheat flour for the pastry dough, claiming it imparts a "warm" flavor to fruit pies. Also, they suggested letting the dough chill for 3 days before using it to let the gluten relax.

I decided to use these suggestions when I made my dad’s birthday dessert, a peach blackberry pie using fruit I bought at farmer’s markets in summer and froze. I was afraid to use all whole wheat flour, as I feared this would produce too dense a product. Therefore, I adapted the crust recipe as follows:

Wheat pastry double crust :
1 ½ c. white flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
5 T. chilled butter
7 T. chilled butter-flavored shortening
Ice water

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients. Mix in the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough clings together. Form into a ball, cover with plastic wrap. Let sit at least 24 hours. Cut dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each out on a piece of wax paper. Fit one into a 9-inch pie pan, save the other for the top crust.

For the filling, I used:
2 lb. sliced peaches
1 c. blackberries
1/3 c. white sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. tapioca ( I like the texture of tapioca)
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Since I used frozen fruit, I let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes before putting it into the crust, placing the top crust over the filling, cutting 4 slits in the top crust, and brushing the top crust with water and sprinkling with turbinado sugar. I covered the edges with aluminum foil and baked at 375 for 50 minutes, removed the foil, and baked for another 30 minutes.

The top crust was absolutely perfect, the edges were wonderful, the filling was fresh and delicious. Just one problem: the bottom crust came out a bit soggy. I got online and found 2 things I could do next time to prevent this:

A good way to keep pie crust from becoming soggy is to sprinkle it with a mixture of equal parts sugar and flour before adding filling. You can also brush the bottom crust with an egg white before adding the filling.

Live and learn! I shall continue my experimentation.