Breakfast Crisp
Probably good for your body, but definitely good for your soul. Oh, and it's vegan, gluten-free, whole grain, and refined-sugar free. If that matters to you.
Welcome back! I took some time off around Christmas and New Year’s, then I hopped over to New York City to visit some baking friends. Stay tuned for more about that adventure in an upcoming newsletter.
Winter in Chicago usually starts off lovely. A crisp Thanksgiving leads into the lights and energy of Christmas and New Year's Day. But the holiday festivities conclude and you face down three to five months of frigid, dreary weather and the ever-present threat of snow. I hunker down, and I actually find these months the most productive. I don't feel the pull to run outside and I'm not inundated with summer produce, so I try to get stuff done. (Whatever that means.)
It's also the time of year where people counteract the decadence of the holidays with a focus on health. I'm not a dietician, but I feel like I eat healthy despite a penchant for butter and carbohydrates. I abide by the rule of moderation and by not eating too much highly-processed stuff. When it comes to sweets and treats, they're usually homemade, from a local bakery, or eaten in reasonable quantities. But sometimes I want to bake something that really feels wholesome and that I can eat a big helping of to fuel my day. I'm also a bit of a fruit snob, and I refuse to eat bland blueberries from the other side of the planet.
Here's where my warm, cozy breakfast crisp comes in. It's a way to have good-quality fruit (apples and/or some sort of frozen fruit) underneath a hearty, nutty, texturerific, whole-grain topping. In the summer I freeze excess farm-fresh fruit, whether that's peak-season blueberries, apricots, plums, tart cherries, or peaches. Once midwinter hits, these frozen memories of summer become my breakfast champions.
This recipe happens to be free of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. It's even vegan. It is not too sweet, and probably better for you than most supermarket granola. I don’t know if it’s good for your body, but it’s definitely great for your soul. It's also very flexible. One of my favorite combinations is apple, cranberry, and ginger. But you can change it up however you see fit.
I use 4-5 large apples plus 10-12 ounces of frozen fruit. The frozen fruit can be berries (blue, cran, rasp, or black), cherries, or stone fruit like frozen plums or apricots. The balance of sweet-tart apples and berries gives you bright flavor without the need to add much sweetener. Or cut out the apples and use all frozen (or even canned! gasp!) peaches. Be sure to pile the fruit high, because apples and cranberries will shrink after baking.
I typically make this recipe the evening before and reheat it for breakfast with a big scoop of yogurt on the side. I've made this dish four times in the past month, and plan to make it again next week.
Breakfast Crisp
A fruit crisp or crumble is my go-to fruit dessert. It inspired my first bake on the Great American Baking Show.I will eat a traditional crisp for breakfast, but I thought I better try to make one that’s a bit more wholesome. I'm not saying this dish is good for you (I’m not an expert on that stuff.), but it's 100% whole grain, gluten free, and vegan. Full of healthy nuts, seeds, olive oil, lots of fruit, and sweetened only with maple syrup, you won't feel the slightest bit of guilt having a big bowl of this crisp for breakfast.
This version is gluten-free, but you can swap out the buckwheat flour for all-purpose or whole-wheat flour (or rye or spelt, for that matter) if that’s what you have. The buckwheat flour gives this crisp a dark, earthy quality that I adore. The filling ingredients are flexible, too. I often take out an apple and add in one peeled, cored, and chopped quince.
Watch me make this on Instagram.
Makes 6-8 servings.
Topping
100 g gluten-free rolled oats
50 g hulled buckwheat groats (or 50 g more rolled oats)
50 g buckwheat flour
60 g finely chopped nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts) or seeds (pepitas or sunflower seeds)
30 g unsweetened dried coconut
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
45 g olive oil
80 g maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat the oven to 375F with a rack on the bottom shelf of of the oven.
In a large mixing bowl, add the oats, buckwheat groats, buckwheat flour, nuts or seeds, coconut, and salt. Toss to combine. Add the olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Filling
4-6 large apples (use apples that are firm, tart, and tasty)
Juice of 1/2 medium lemon (about 1 Tablespoon)
8-10 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (don’t thaw if using frozen)
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 hefty teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
80 g maple syrup
2 teaspoons olive oil, for the baking dish
Peel, core, and quarter your apples then slice them about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, then place them in a large mixing bowl and toss them with the lemon juice. Add the cranberries, cornstarch, sugar, ginger, and salt then toss to combine. Add the maple syrup and toss to combine.
Rub a couple of teaspoons of olive oil on a 9-inch square Pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Dump your fruit mixture into the baking dish and spread it out evenly. It's going to look very full, but it will shrink after baking. Ideally the fruit is piled up higher than the baking dish.
Sprinkle the crisp mixture on top of the fruit and spread it out evenly. Set the baking dish on a larger sheet pan to catch any drips. Bake on the bottom rack at 375F/190C for about 60 minutes. After 40 minutes, drape a piece of aluminum foil loosely on top of the crisp to prevent it from browning too much. You know it's done when you see the filling bubbling vigorously all around the edges. Remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before eating, but ideally let it fully cool so that the filling sets. (It isn’t pie, so a bit of runny filling doesn’t matter.)
I tend to make this the evening before, and let it sit at room temperature overnight, covered. After the first serving, I cover it and refrigerate it. To reheat: scoop out the crisp into a bowl, and cook for about 30-40 seconds in the microwave.
Serve with a large scoop of plain yogurt, Greek or otherwise.
This crisp will last, covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Happy Baking,
Martin
