When do you change up your eating routine?
Personally I find that my dietary habits vary most dramatically during the summer months.
Get me away from the heavy, the saturated, the towering and the stuffed. Bring on the juicy, the puffy and the wafer-thin.
In addition, my already minimalistic approach to plate design becomes even more basic: we’re talking an aggressively perceptible shift from ‘make that look pretty’ to ‘it’s simply too hot for me to care especially since it all ends up in the same place’.
Which would explain why literal hot messes such as crisps, crumbles and cobblers make regular appearances at my summer dessert table.
Blackberries are abundant in this part of the country, and when they’re plump and ripe and practically perfect such as they are right now, I rarely pass them by. But the cool thing about a dessert like this is that you can adapt it to feature the berry or even stone fruit of your choosing.
Just be sure to remember the vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped stuff. And brace for a mess. Or don’t! It’s summer, and you’re having too much fun to care.
P.S. Do you know another thing that’s fun? Treating Dad to some southwestern-inspired grilling this weekend! And did you know that The New Southwest features an entire chapter on delicious grillables? From Chile-Rubbed Pork Chops to Adobo Chicken Wings and Street-Style Corn. There’s even a recipe for Grilled Apple Pie. Whaaaat? It’s true. So stop by your local Barnes & Noble this afternoon and pick up a copy of The New Southwest for Dad, or better yet, order it from Amazon.com. I mean, Dad’s going to need something to go with his blackberry crisp, right? Right.
Rustic Blackberry Crisp
adapted from Saveur.com
8 cups (36 oz.) blackberries, washed and roughly chopped
1/2 c. white sugar, granulated
1 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/2 tsp. salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Toss chopped blackberries and white sugar together in a large bowl, then transfer to a two quart baking dish.
Toss flour, light brown sugar and salt together in another large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers, cut butter into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse, chunky meal. Spread topping evenly over berries and bake until the filling is bubbling and the toppings is light golden, approximately 60 minutes. Remove and serve immediately or slightly warmed with ice cream and/or freshly whipped cream.
YIELD: approximately 4-6 servings