Ina Garten's Apple & Pear Crisp

I've loved the Food Network since it's early 90's debut.  Like any good East Ender with a passion for cooking, that means I adore the one and only Ina Garten, a.k.a. The Barefoot Contessa.

Shopping at the Montauk fish monger one year, I saw her filming a segment.  Ohhhhh did that tickle my fancy!  We watched two takes, where Ina "asked" about the difference between types of scallops for the benefit of us viewers, and then I obsessively DVR-ed until I saw "our" episode air. (See how I did that, I made something about Ina mine!). In the episode, she and Jeffrey enjoyed sandwiches on the Montauk docks, OUR Montauk dock, and I ate it up.

This years crisp CSA apples have been a favorite in my household, and the delivery of pears last week had me looking no further than Ina for a perfect fall dessert.

Apple & Pear Crisp    
Courtesy of Ina Garten & The Food Network

Ingredients (Base)

• 2 pounds / 4 ripe pears
• 2 pounds / 6 firm apples
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of agave syrup or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup whole wheat or (white) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 Ingredients (Toppings)

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or (white) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of agave syrup or 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
• Note: The recipe calls for 2 sticks, but I used one and was happy with the end result
• Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt 

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Peel, core, and cut the pears and apples into chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and mix in the zests, juices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 
• Note: Out of nutmeg, I used ground ginger instead
• Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.
• For the topping: Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 1 minute, until the mixture is in large crumbles. If you don't have a mixer (like I don't at the Montauk house), mix and chop the ingredients together by hand with a knife until the butter breaks up. 
• Sprinkle evenly over the fruit base, covering the fruit completely.
• Place the dish on a sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. 
• Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.  

 

This October is #AppleLove recipe month, led by The Spicy RD.  Check it out on Twitter with the hash tag or here!