There is a forty year (and one month) difference between my niece and myself. She will be running her first half-marathon this fall, and I will be running my redemptive half-marathon in late September. I won't tell you the difference between her running pace and mine. But, be rest assured, there is a difference. So as I was taking a ten day running hiatus to nurse an injury, she kept improving her running pace. As if the age difference between us wasn't already enough. We recently looked up her mother's (my sister's) prior half-marathon and marathon running times. I had forgotten how fast my sister used to run (she has since given up running for cycling). With all of us having the competitive DNA gene (mine is in remission) I can't help but wonder if my niece has two half-marathon goals. One of them being able to best her mother. If not in her first half-marathon, but in her second. For me, I not only want to be able to run this half-marathon faster and stronger than I ran it two years ago, I want to be running it without the over reliance of anti-inflammatories. With a little bit of luck from the running and weather gods, I hope we will both achieve our goals. And I promise to do my best to curb my envy when my niece tells me her finish time. As I remind myself there is forty year (and one month) age difference between us.
While the summer running season in the Chicago area is wicked hot and humid, the seasonal fruits and vegetables are at the height of their flavorfulness, color, and ripeness. For me, it's the season of tomato and berry overindulgence. Eaten raw or roasted, I cannot get enough of either of them. This may be the only time of the year when, if given the choice between a ripe tomato and anything chocolate, I would choose the tomato. Seriously. If only there was a way to preserve whole vine ripened summer tomatoes. I have already begun stockpiling bags of blueberries in the freezer so I can resurrect a little bit of summer in the middle of the cold, bitter winter season. Already having more than a half dozen recipes for great desserts calling for blueberries, my friends and family will be glad so many secret blueberry stashes have been squirreled away.
Blueberries are just one of the berries used in this incredibly delicious Triple Berry Crisp. An abundance of cherries and some strawberries round out this summer seasonal fruit trifecta.
Topped with a rich vanilla ice cream, the Triple Berry Crisp is taken to an even higher level of comfort food scrumptiousness. Are you drooling yet?
There is a relatively higher ratio of cherries to blueberries and strawberries in this crisp. Considering someone here wasn't as diligent checking to ensure all of the cherry pits were removed, make sure you give this job to someone who will be painstakingly careful. The flavor of the fruit filling is deepened with the use of a fragrant, nutty browned butter. To make browned butter (beurre noisette), begin by melting the butter over medium heat. Occasionally swirl the pan so the butter melts evenly. The butter will begin to change from a melted foamy state, to a lemony-yellow color, to golden tan, and finally to a toasty brown. The tiny bits of milk solids sitting on the bottom of the pan are loaded with flavor. But not everyone is a fan of their slightly burnt taste (I am a huge fan). So when pouring the browned butter into a bowl feel free to use a strainer (or not).
It may seem like you have made too much of the topping. But trust me, you haven't. The generous crisp topping balances perfectly with the sweet, luscious, thickened, warm fruit filling.
Instead of making this crisp in a single baking dish, I decided to make it in the beautiful au gratin dishes I recently found. Baking time for the Triple Berry Crisp, whether made in a single dish or five or six smaller dishes, will still be approximately 45 minutes. It takes that long for the flavor of the fruit to deepen and for the color of the crisp to turn to a golden brown.
The crisp topping is crunchy and buttery with a hint of cinnamon. The use of brown sugar gives it a warm, just the right amount of sweetness.
You can serve and/or eat the Triple Berry Crisp without some vanilla ice cream. But why would you want to? Unless of course you are eating some of the leftovers for breakfast and you have a no ice cream for breakfast rule.
This is yet another one of those desserts worth turning on the oven for, even when temperatures are soaring above 90 degrees and the humidity levels are stifling. It also happens to be one that manages to ramp up the flavors of summer's best berries to off the chart levels.
The Triple Berry Crisp works well as either an informal gathering or formal dinner party dessert. The intoxicating aroma of the crisp baking in the oven will have everyone drooling even before you bring it to the table. Fresh summer cherries and berries won't be around forever. So don't wait too long before making this luscious, soul soothing Triple Berry Crisp.
Triple Berry Crisp a la Mode
Serves 5 when using au gratin dishes and 6 to 8 when using medium sized ramekins.
Serves 8-10 if served in a large baking dish.
Ingredients
Crisp Topping
1 1/2 cups (140 g) old-fashioned oatmeal (not quick oats)
1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
Berry Mixture
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted to the brown butter stage
18 ounces (620 g) cherries, pitted
12 ounces (310 g) blueberries
8 ounces (226 g) strawberries, hulls removed and cut into halves and/or quarters depending on size
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup (67 g) light brown sugar
Optional: 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Good quality vanilla ice cream
Directions
Crisp Topping
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
2. In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
3. Add in the butter. Use your hands or a fork to combine all of the ingredients. Your mixture should look moist and there should be some clumps. Set aside.
Berry Mixture
1. In a heavy bottomed skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Cook until the butter begins to brown and has a nutty aroma (approximately 3 to 4 minutes). Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cherries, blueberries, strawberries, brown sugar, and cornstarch.
3. Pour the browned butter over the fruit.
4. Using a spatula, stir to combine. All of the fruit should be coated.
5. Spoon the berry mixture evenly into au gratin dishes and/or medium sized ramekins. Note: Alternately spoon into a 9" x 12" baking dish or 10" round baking dish.
6. Sprinkle on the crisp topping.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is a beautiful golden brown and the berry mixture is bubbling along the sides of the dish.
8. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
9. Top with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve the crisp warm. Then sit back and enjoy.
Notes: (1) If you don't have a scale, there are 3 generous cups of cherries; 2 cups blueberries; 1 1/2 cup strawberries in the crisp. (2) Instead of using au gratin dishes or ramekins, use a baking dish (round, rectangular, or oval) or for a more rustic look use a 10 inch cast iron pan. (3) There was enough of the berry filling and crisp topping to fill five of the au gratin dishes I used. (4) If you don't have any strawberries, make this a cherry and blueberry crisp. Increase the amount of blueberries to 3 to 3 1/2 cups.
