Its Like Fall in Dessert Form: Apple, Pear and Candied Ginger Crumble

I am a big fan of crumbles, cobblers and crisps. I have never been much of a baker but this recipe is one of my fall backs.  It really is a catch all for any fruit you want to use but this time of year nothing beats apple and pear. To really punch it up, I like to add some sliced, candied ginger. It liquefies in the oven and gives it a sweet, spiced tang. Delicious.

Try to use a good cooking apple rather than an eating one. I know this sounds odd but some apples just seem to hold their shape much better when baked and you want texture: We’re not making apple mush with crumble topping. This also explains the cornstarch. Although you could go without, the starch absorbs any excess liquid in the dish and thickens it so the apples don’t boil in their own juices.

One last thing....don’t skip the ice cream or whipping cream. Some may fight it but it is a part of the crumble and a small scoop when the dish is fresh out of the oven....perfection.

Ingredients:

6 apples (I wanted to use some pears so I went 4 apples and 2 pears)

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oatmeal

¼ cup granola or raisans

Half cup of butter, melted

4 or 5 little nubs of candied ginger, sliced

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350⁰
• Wash and chop up your fruit. I like to leave the skins on but that’s a personal preference, up to you. Whatever you decide, leave the fruit nice and chunky.
• Toss the fruit with the cornstarch and in a separate bowl mix together the other ingredients. Really mix it all up and evenly distribute all the butter.
• Toss the fruit with half of the topping mix. Put it into a good size casserole dish and spread the rest of the crumble onto the top.
• Bake in the oven for about 45 mins or until nicely browned. Serve warm.

A Break from the French Bistro to the Spanish Tapa: Crabcakes with Spicy Remoulade

Whew. It’s been a week, I tell you. Scratch that it has been a few weeks. I haven’t been able to sit down and plan out my relaxing cooking time and write up my posts with life being all crazy around me. That isn’t to say I haven’t been cooking, it just means I haven’t been able to plan it all out. This particular post comes out of that hectic time. Its a flavor base I don’t usually roll with but I needed to get my mind out there, and hey bistros exist the world over so instead of this post being a cornerstone bistro recipe it might just be a cornerstone tapa recipe.

I drew inspiration from a fellow blogger’s recent activity (Seafood Cakes from Johnny Condor Eats) and coupled it with a recipe I learned from a fabulous cook in Ireland. It came as an eye opener, it’s got flavor coming from the crab cake, coming from the sauce, its slightly spicy, moist and juicy, it’s got crunch, and I hate to say it....its got style.

The key to pulling this recipe off is threefold: 

1. Use fresh crab not canned, good fishmongers will have ‘picked’ crab in containers and that is the stuff you want to get, don’t go through the problem of picking a whole crab by yourself.
2. Use your best judgement when it comes to the ratios, if you see in the bowl that the mix is a little dry, up your mayo a bit, if it is a little moist than you think it should be, add in some more bread crumbs. Don’t blindly follow the recipe.
3. Don’t skip the sauce and the additions. Prep these in advance. They make the dish.

Crabcake Ingredients:

Container of fresh crab meat (I managed to get some good blue crab, it was mixed white and brown meat and that kept it moist. I had about 2lbs all together)

½ red onion, sliced very fine

5 scallions, finely diced

Small handful of parsley, finely chopped

3 egg yolks

100 ml mayo

200g or so of bread crumbs

1 tbsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

Method:

• Pick through the crab and check for shells. Set aside.
• Combine all of the ingredients except for 1 egg yolk and the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Add in the crab and half of the bread crumbs. Check consistency. Add in some more bread and check again. You want it to stick together not be crumbly or too wet. Judgement time.
• Chill the mix for about 20 minutes so the flavors merry together. Take it out, form it into little cakes and put it back into the fridge for 10 more minutes.
• Heat a pan with some oil over medium high heat. Flour the cakes lightly, getting rid of any excess and then fry for about 2 mins each side. Place the cakes into the oven for about 10 minutes. This combo cooking method allows for a crunch on the outside but slows down the process so they stay moist.

Plate with some Spicy Remoulade (recipe below), some fresh salsa (for an idea of what I mean by fresh try the salsa used in this recipe here) and some crispy tortilla chips (take a tortilla and slice it into strips, throw it into the 350⁰ oven for a few minutes with a sprinkling of oil until crisp)

Spicy Remoulade

This recipe is a fantastic pairing with the crab cakes as it carries some of the same flavors, really bringing the dish together. I usually puree it all together in the end but you can keep it chunky if you’d like.

Ingredients:

400g mayo

150g sour cream

1 lime, zested and juiced

2 peppers, seeded and finely diced (I used a nice Jalapeno)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp mild chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 dashes Tabasco

Method:

• Mix the first five ingredients together in a bowl with some salt and pepper.
• Add half of each of the remaining ingredients. Taste. Does it need more slow heat? More chilli powder. Does it need more spice? Cumin. Do you want it to have a bite to it? Tabasco.
• Let it sit in the fridge, covered until you’re ready for it.