This is a great, seasonal and simple dish from a favorite chef of mine, and one of our “Chef’s Table” contributors, Peter McCarthy, the very talented chef / owner at EVOO restaurant in Cambridge.
Here in the Northeast it’s blueberry season, and while there are plenty of great things to do with all of our local flavor bombs, like make blueberry jam, blueberry cake, blueberry pie, or blueberry ice cream, I challenge you to find a recipe as good and simple as this blueberry crisp.
There is hardly anything more to this recipe than some simple measuring and mixing, a brief stint in a hot oven to burst the sweet berries and crisp the streusel topping, and then if you wish (and why wouldn’t you?), a reach into the freezer for a nice big scoop of vanilla ice cream. This dish is all about a lot of goodness for not a lot of work…..Amen.
Muppet helped me measure and mix the topping while I pulled together the simpler filling ingredient list (I’m no fool). We quickly combined our efforts in an 8″ round x 3 1/2″ deep ceramic baking dish and tossed it into a 350℉ oven for about a half hour, piece of cake…or crisp, as it were.
Support Local Farmers!
Buy Local Blueberries!
Make This Crisp!
Cheers – S
Ingredients
Topping:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 pound softened butter
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
- 2 cups toasted slivered almonds
Filling:
- 8 cups local blueberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon brandy
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Instructions
Topping
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the first 8 ingredients until they come together. Add the toasted almonds and mix until combined. Chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter set.
Filling
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl (wow...that was tough).
Assembly
- Place filling in an adequately sized baking pan or individual baking cups. Crumble topping on top. Depending on the size of the baking dish you use, you may have some of the topping left-over, if you do, toss it into a zip-lok and freeze it for later use. I like my crisp with a higher blueberry to topping ratio, so I use a deeper baking dish with a smaller surface area on top for the streusel. If you like more crunch in your crisp, use a larger, shallower dish that will take more of the topping to cover. Bake in a 350℉ pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, until filling is bubbling around the sides. Serve with a scoop of ice cream, or some freshly whipped cream.