Use fruit (and food) that is LOCAL and in season. It’s important. Local food means you are getting it in season (unlike mangos from 7,000 miles away). Local food also has a different bacterial profile – one that is closer to your own body and it can help to strengthen the immune system.
Local and seasonal food is also picked close to its ripe time so you get maximum nutrition from it. Food from far-away, like mangos or bananas are picked green and are nutritionally poor.
So, what fruit is in season in November? Where I live (and I suspect where many of you live) apples, pears, persimmons and pomegranates are in full swing now. Sounds like a crumble!
I just made it over the weekend and I will admit that the two of us decided to have a small lunch on Sunday and “save ourselves” for the crumble. We could not stop eating it. We normally don’t do that but it’s good to go crazy sometimes and not beat ourselves about it. I just went for a long run after, so it’s all good.
One key here: get the brown butter (I get mine from Thrive Market). Even though it’s called “butter,” it’s actually ghee so it’s free of casein and lactose which is what many people are intolerant of.
“Brown butter” means it’s been simmered long enough for the milk solids to caramelize (or brown). The butter is than filtered making it still taste like candy but without the dairy (hence: ghee). Brown butter is what is used in French pastries which explains why we come back five pounds heavier after a trip to Paris.
Apart from being in season, both persimmons and pomegranate are highly nutritious. Pomegranate is high in phytoestrogens and has been used in Persia and India for generations to help women get pregnant. Persimmons are very high in vitamin C and vitamin A – both essential in re-building and maintaining a strong immune system (having said that, don’t overdo it with sugar and sugar is the big immune antagonist).
I hope you enjoy this awesome recipe. Feel free to experiment with different spices and fruit.
- 1 teaspoon ghee or coconut oil, melted
- 1 pound ripe and soft persimmons, peeled and cut to ½-inch cubes
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds (from ½ large or 1 small pomegranate)
- 1 apple with skin, but to ½-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder or extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot or tapioca starch
- pinch of salt (it will enhance the sweetness)
- 1 cup finely shredded coconut flakes
- ½ cup brown butter or ghee, melted (I get mine on Thrive Market)
- ¼ cup arrowroot or tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ tsp vanilla powder
- pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Spread the melted ghee or coconut oil at the bottom of the skillet or baking dish.
- Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl and toss to evenly cover the fruit. Place in the cast iron skillet.
- Combine all the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and use your hands to work the butter or ghee well into the paste until it turns into a crumble.
- Spread the crumble evenly on top of the fruit.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the topping is brown.