Apple Pear Cranberry Pistachio Crisp

The best part about fall, is the bounty of fresh seasonal fruits: pears, apples, berries, and now that my flat has cooled off I can fire up the oven.  The crowning jewel to my Sunday dinner was an Apple-Pear-Cranberry-Pistachio Crisp, with a dollop of Häagan Daas Dulce de Leche Ice Cream.

For me crisps tend to be more organic, and seldom do I have an exact recipe because I just haven't been that disciplined, and I want to see where my mood and my fruit takes me.

Filling

• 4 Granny Smith Apples
• 4 Gala Apples
• 2 Honey Crisp Apples
• 2 Golden Delicious Apples
• 2 Bartlett Pears
• 2 Bosc Pears
• 1 lb Fresh Cranberries
• 1 cup Shelled Pistachios
• 1/3 Cup Calvados
• 1/2 - 1 Cup Turbinado Sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
• 3 or 4 tbsp Minit Tapioca (depending on liquid from apples et. al.)
• 1/2-1 tbsp Cinnamon (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp Cloves
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• splash of vanilla

Crisp Topping

• 1 stick cold Butter
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 cup Golden Yellow Sugar
• 1 cup Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of Cinnamon 

I used a variety of apples because each has different properties.  Granny Smith's are tart and hold their shape after baking.  Golden Delicious melt but bring a sweetness.  Honey Crisp and Gala have a mixture of sweetness and texture.  I use the Calvados to amp up the apple flavour.  Cranberries and a nice tartness, and the pistachios add nice textural contrast.

Peel and dice the apples, pears mix the the juice and zest of a lime, sugar and spices et.al. As you may have seen with some of my other recipes I tend to like things on the tart side.  If you need to, add more sugar. Put into a deep backing dish.

Mix the topping,   in your food processor or mixer, add the dry ingredients and cut in the cold butter.  You should get a pea-meal textured mixture.  Cover the fruit, with the topping, and put it in a 375 oven for 45-50 minutes.  Until the fruit is bubbling, and the topping is golden brown.  A tip: place your baking dish on a cookie sheet to catch and drips and splatters from the fruit.

Server with a dollop of ice cream, whipping cream, or even a mild goat cheese.


More Later....
G.