The other day we made a visit to one of our fruit and vegetable suppliers. It was a hot sunny afternoon and the plan was to make a quick stop to pick up some staples for our pantry.
Outside there were two crates full of blemished apricots. Slowly decomposing in the sun outside. Being surprised we asked the owner of the shop the purpose of leaving the apricots outside to rot. At least why not sort out some of the decent ones still in the crates?
Blemish – spoil the appearance or quality of (something)
Sarcastically the shop owner told us that nobody will want to buy them. He was going to give it to the first farmer that passes by to use them as feed for goats or sheep. To continue insulting the remaining purpose of these apricots, the shop owner blurted out that we can take them if we wish, for free!
We did the sorting out ourselves and not surprisingly found around twenty apricots decent enough to be given a purpose. The following evening we immediately got to work on some quick baking to salvage our undesirable fruit.
Did you know that 45% of global fruit and vegetable production is wasted every year?
World Food and Agricultural Organization
This happens time and again. If not at the shop, even at home. We end up with semi-rotten fruit and we just give up on it and chuck it in the bin. This is unacceptable and we need to do our part to be creative and find alternative purposes for the undesired food.
Any easy and practical way to use up old fruit is to make a quick smoothie by blending the fruit with some yoghurt and cereal. But if you have the time, and kitchen aptitude, consider making a quick baked fruit crumble. Following is our recipe which we alternate from time to time. Crumbles are great with apricot, peach and obviously the common apple.
The Chefs’ Manifesto
We are keen followers of the ‘Chefs’ Manifesto‘. It is a great initiative bringing together a global community of chefs with the aim of helping to deliver good food for all. The manifesto sets out eight action plans and one of them focusses directly on valuing natural resources and reducing waste.
Apricot Crumble
Ingredients
- 5 Apricots
- 50 grams Butter (unsalted)
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 Lemon (juice only)
For the crumble
- 200 grams Flour
- 150 grams Butter (unsalted)
- 100 grams Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Lemon (zest only)
- 50 grams Jumbo Oats (optional)
- 50 grams Roasted Almonds (chopped, optional)
Instructions
- 180°C for 30 minutes
- Pre-heat your oven at 180°C.
- With cold water thoroughly wash the apricots. Half the apricots to get the stone out and then cut into wedges and lay evenly on a baking dish.Do not worry if you feel that the dish has too much fruit. Once it cooks it will sink. So go ahead and pile it high.
- Toss the apricots with some sugar and scatter a few knobs of butter.(Normally one would slightly sauté the fruit in a pan with the sugar and butter. Since the fruit was quite ripe it was better off to skip this step as you don't want the fruit to break down too much in a hot pan.)
- To prepare the crumble place the flour and sugar in a bowl. With clean hands combine the butter until you get a sandy texture. Some small nougats of butter are fine. Then add the oats, chopped almonds and lemon zest and combine.
- Top the apricots with an even layer of the crumble mixture. You can pile a little bit higher in the centre. Clean the edges of the baking pan.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Once the crumble topping is a light brown you can remove and leave to cool.
- For the best result to serve, let the crumble cool so the fruit sets. Even refrigerating and then reheating slightly before serving.Serve with some whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
Please let us know how it turned out for you! Send us an e-mail or tag @maldonadobistro on Instagram and hashtag it #amaltesepantry.
