Week Night Yum Yum: Oven Roasted Salmon with Garlic and Vegetables

Tuesday, June 21, 2011


This is a super fast meal for the busy week night that comes together in 20 minutes or even less (depending on the thickness of your salmon!). You won't feel guilty eating it either -- healthy summer vegetables are roasted together with salmon and simply seasoned with a little butter, olive oil, and garlic. Best part? It's One Pan Clean Up -- seriously easy.

I used zucchini and red onion for the veggies because that's what I had on hand. Would love this with some cherry tomatoes, red or yellow bell pepper, and summer squash (that's the yellow one that looks kind of like a zucchini with a thin neck) for this dish too. Do a colorful combination of whatever you love!

Oven Roasted Salmon with Garlic and Vegetables
1 side of salmon (or cut to your desired proportion)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter sliced thinly
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 zucchini, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
1 small red onion, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
olive oil

Special equipment: aluminum foil and baking sheet for easy clean up

Cover the baking sheet with the aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the salmon and pat very dry (both sides) with paper towels. Set skin-side down on the baking sheet. Add the butter slices on top of the salmon, then sprinkle the garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a separate bowl, combine the vegetables. Add enough olive oil to lightly coat (but not soak!), and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then spread them out around the salmon on the baking dish.

Bake in oven about 15 minutes or until salmon is cooked through (time will depend on thickness) and vegetables are tender but still al dente. Serve with some rice pilaf if desired. 

Pizza Week: Pizza Rolls....The New Dinner Roll with Attitude!

Friday, June 17, 2011


When I was younger, one of the few, fonder memories I had with my mother was her taking me shopping in the valley or to visit her old office, and then stopping by a place called Pizza Cookery. You walk in through the heavy doors, the place is almost pitch dark, and saw dust covers the floor. I remember being totally freaked out by the sawdust and had to have my dad on occasion carry me (I was like 4). They have the best antipasto salad, pretty damn good pizza, and these rolls. Omg, the rolls. Made with pizza dough, they were cheesy and super garlicky and you could eat 20 of them alone before your food came. They were incredible.

It took me a while to figure out how they did it. The pizza dough you use is extremely important. I've found Whole Foods' brand has the perfect balanced flavor and texture, and most importantly, the puff -up factor you're looking for with these rolls. I experimented with a few versions before I figured out their secret was a combination of fresh and powdered garlic. Ah ha! And of course, good olive oil and shredded mozzarella cheese. These are super easy to make and bake up in 10 minutes and are the perfect dinner roll to spruce up an Italian-American meal or with a good antipasto salad. Enjoy these. And if you're in the Woodland Hills area in Southern California, it's worth the trip! Get the antipasto salad with baskets of these rolls, the pepperoni pizza is outstanding, and I heard the lasagna is awesome.


Pizza Dinner Rolls     makes about 8-10 rolls, depending on size
2 store-bought pizza doughs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 head of garlic, cloves roughly chopped (these are supposed to be heavy on the garlic, so hold back if you want it less)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Roll out one of the pizza doughs into a rectangle, about 1/4" or so thick. Brush the top with some olive oil, then leaving a border, sprinkle half of the garlic on top. Sprinkle half of the garlic powder, and top with the mozzarella cheese. It should look like this:


Then taking the longer-side facing you, begin rolling that longer side up until you get a log, as if you were making a jellyroll or cinnamon rolls. Pinch the sides at the end of the roll and press in the seams. Repeat with remaining dough and rest of the ingredients.

Cut the logs into 2" thick pieces. Take a casserole or lasagna dish and brush the bottom with some olive oil. Place the pieces in the dish, cut-side down (meaning, one side with the filling exposed touches the bottom of the dish, the other side of the filling is facing up). Fit the rolls snugly together but leave enough room for them to expand and fluff up.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown and the tops and bottoms are golden, cheese is melted, and it smells divine. Serve piping hot!

Pizza Week: Potato, Thyme and Truffle Pizza



Here's a great example of how pizzas don't necessarily have to have the classic tomato sauce-mozzarella cheese combination. Based on a wonderful and favorite pizza of mine from Serious Pie here in Seattle, the "sauce" is simply good olive oil and fresh garlic. The cheese is good parmesan cheese (they use shredded, I like grated), and toppings are thinly sliced roasted fingerling poatoes, thyme, and the slightly amount of truffle oil. This is earthyness defined for pizza.

Potato, Thyme, and Truffle Pizza
1 store-bought pizza dough
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
about 4-5 fingerling potatoes sliced thinly and roasted until fork-tender*
1 Tbsp fresh or dried thyme (to taste)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (1/2 cup if using shredded parm)
truffle oil (about 1/4 tsp)

Prepare your pizza dough. Brush one side with the olive oil then top with the garlic. Layer out the potatoes. Sprinkle with thyme and then the cheese, then finish with a very light drizzle (talking less than 1/4 tsp here!) of the truffle oil. Bake in 425 degree oven until golden brown.

*To roast the potatoes, slice them very thinly and toss them in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven about 10 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork or knife. You don't want them caramelized or golden because they will finish cooking on top of the pizza.

Pizza Week: Pepperoni, Onion, and Kalamata Olive

Wednesday, June 15, 2011


If you're craving a saltier pizza then this is your bet! Spicy pepperoni, crunchy red onion, and briny kalamata olives make the most perfect combination I think for a pizza. To balance out flavors, sweetness from the tomato sauce and basil. This was seriously good

Pepperoni, Onion, and Kalamata Olive Pizza
1 store-bought pizza dough
1/4 cup marinara or tomato sauce (to taste)
very thinly sliced pepperoni
about 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
sliced red onion
kalamata olives (pitted), left whole or sliced if desired
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade or torn

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your pizza stone if using or spray/parchment paper a baking sheet or two.

Stretch out your pizza dough into one large or 4 smaller disks (or desired shape). Spread the sauce, top with pepperoni, then the cheese, then the onion, olives and basil on top. Bake in oven about 10 minutes, or until crust is golden and top is melted and bubbly. Let stand 1 minute before slicing.

Pizza Week: The Greek Zucchini

Tuesday, June 14, 2011


In continuing on with our pizzas, this version is simple but very tasty, borrowing some flavors from Greece. Zucchini is a wonderful and unfortunately underutilized pizza ingredient. If cut thicker, it maintains a great crunch; if sliced thinly it melts into the pizza. It's versatile and takes on any flavor profile you add to it, while still retaining its own identity. Sweet red onion balances out the fresh garlic flavor and salty feta cheese, and toasted pine nuts add unexpected nutty crunch you'll love.

Greek Zucchini Pizza
1 store-bought pizza dough
1/4 cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce
1 zucchini, ends trimmed and cut into chunks
1/2 small red onion, cut into chunks
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh basil
1 Tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes
2 Tbsp lightly toasted pine nuts
course sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
good olive oil

Stretch out your pizza dough to desired shape(s) and size(s). Layer the marinara sauce on top, then top with the zucchini, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, feta cheese, and pine nuts. Season with a light sprinkling of salt and good hand of pepper, then drizzle a little olive oil on top. Bake in oven about 10 minutes until crust is beginning to golden and top is bubbling and set.

Note: Feta cheese will not melt like mozzarella cheese, so don't expect it to get gooey and bubbling. It will keep its form throughout cooking. Rather, gage doneness by the crust this time.

Pizza Week: Tomato, Cheese, Fresh Basil -- The Perfect Classic



Apparently Little Baby #3 is craving pizza something fierce, so I've decided to run with it and do a week-long feature of nothing but pizza!

Making my own pizza has grown out of necessity. We live on a beautiful property up here in Seattle, but so far out into the gorgeous woods that most pizza chains won't deliver to us. So, I've had to improvise and figure out how to make my own pizza the way I like it, and something relatively fast to rival the convenience of home delivered pizzas.

Three words people: Store-Bought Pizza Dough.

Ok, maybe that's 4 words. Whatever. The point is, you can stock up on your favorite store-bought pizza dough (my personal faves are from Whole Foods and Trader Joe's), freeze them (!), and home-made pizza is ready in literally 10-15 minutes for under $10 on top of it. Another trick: I use jarred marinara sauce for the pizza sauce. It's convenient, versatile  (leftover can whip up some pasta for the kids for lunch the next day), and tastes even more flavorful than pizza sauce. I always have shredded or fresh mozzarella cheese on hand as well, but this week I'll show you some tricks using other cheeses too.

First up is the classic Tomato-Cheese-Basil Pizza. It's the first, and the best. You can make it  using sliced fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and good basil, or this version using the above super-easy and fast ingredients. This literally took me 10 minutes start to finish and is one of the faves for the kiddos.

Tomato-Cheese-Basil Pizza
1 store-bought pizza dough (makes one large pizza or 4 individual portions)
about 1/4 cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce (more if you like it saucier)
2 Tbsp chiffonade basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I like it cheesy; hold back if you like it with more sauce)

Preheat oven to 425. Preheat your pizza stone if using. If using baking sheets, spray with non-stick spray or use parchment paper.

If making one large pizza, stretch (don't roll!) the pizza dough into a large disk of your desired size and thickness. If  making 4 individuals, cut the dough into 4 equal parts and stretch out each into desired shape and thickness. Spoon the sauce on top, then sprinkle with the basil, and then top with the cheese. The basil goes underneath so it doesn't burn on top and infuses into the pizza. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbling. Cooking time will depend on the size of your pizzas and oven strength, so 10 minutes is an approximation. Start checking at 7 minutes.

The Perfect Polenta

Thursday, June 9, 2011


Golden. Creamy. Lightly flavored with nutty parmesan cheese. Polenta is one of those La Bella Vita foods. It's simple but requires skill to make. It's "peasant food" that can rival a rib-eye. Some call it polenta. Others call it "mamaliga." While still others, obviously under influence of Disney, call it "porridge." I call it...

...heaven.

I grew up with polenta. If you're Italian, you certainly know what it is. If you're Romanian, you have a love-hate relationship with it. If you were friends with an Italian or Romanian growing up, you knew it as "corn mush" and were first perplexed by the consistency, unsure of the first bite, and as you grew older learned to be just as obsessed about it as I am now. And in your adult years, as restaurants charge an obscene amount of money for a side of polenta, to satisfy the craving you try to make it yourself. You go the store and pick up a log of polenta and bring it home. You're puzzling through it, as it is not the creamy hot goodness you know. You get frustrated and create something horrendous and feel defeated, stinging with the pain in your heart you cannot taste that first bite of polenta.

I am here to fix that. I am here to teach you. To educate you as to what polenta is, how to properly make it, and how to enjoy it in its many, many forms. Yes, polenta at first glance seems like a piping hot bowl of yellow mush. But it's much more than that. Add sharp, salty feta cheese, onions, and spicy sausage for a Romanian style casserole that is To. Die. For. Add tender green leaves like spinach and arugula for a gorgeous take on the classic. Slice it and fry it then top it with sauteed mushrooms. Infuse it with different cheeses and herbs. Or serve it the classic style -- golden and creamy, piping hot next to crispy fried fish or meats.

I told you polenta was heaven.

Let's begin with the basics, shall we? What the hell is polenta anyway?

Polenta is a dish made using boiled cornmeal. The cornmeal can be yellow or white (or blue) depending on the type of corn was used. The corn is ground into a course consistency, called "meal." It can be ground rather large, producing a grittier consistency, medium, fine, or very, very fine which then resembles more flour. It is this very finely ground cornemal that is used in dishes such as arepas or to make corn tortillas.

Although polenta is synonymous with Italian food, it takes just a little historical knowledge to realize that it is not an  dish. Corn is indigenous to the Americas, and did not make its way into Europe until the 15th and 16th centuries during the colonization of the New World. However, "polenta" as a dish dates back to ancient Roman times. Ancient polenta was made using farro, chestnuts, chickpeas, and millet or spelt. The process of extracting the germ and grinding it was itentical to the process of making course cornmeal. This meal was then boiled and stirred until softened and creamy, and minimally flavored with aromatics or salt. In Roman times, ground anchovies in fact were the primary source for salt, so most likely that was used. Some ground pepper (or birds of paradise which is black peppercorn's cousin), perhaps a little fresh herbs if they were inseason and readily available, and voila! Polenta was born. So basically the ingredients have changed, but the process and cooking method have not.

In terms of the maize, once the New World brought with it new-found riches especially of the culinary kind, the soil and temperature of northern Italy found itself to be perfectly suited to grow maize (corn). Adapting their ancient technique to the new ingredienet, polenta as we know it today in Italy was born. And it continues to be a staple food in Northern Italy to this very day, out numbering pasta dishes 2:1. It is from the north the classic polenta-stew dish was born. Northern Italians with their closer proximity to central Europe and cooler climates favored meat-centered dishes richened with root vegetables. Classic braises, roasts, and hearty stews were born there for the Italian cuisine. In place of pasta which was more favored in the south (along with tomato-based sauces because of the more temperate climate condusive to growing tomatoes), polenta snuck in as the traditional side dish to these meat-centere courses. To this day, a classic dish of stewed rabbit or even ossobuco will be served with polenta, rather than rice or pasta.

Other countries influenced by the Roman Empire continue the polenta tradition. Corsica in France in fact still makes pulenta, made very traditionally using ground chestnut flour. As you move east the Austrians make a polenta sweetened with some sugar and served for breakfast with coffee. Still further east, in Romania, Bulgaria and parts of Ukraine and western most Russia they make polenta much like the norther Italians do, using maize but a stiffer version. This kind is meant to be practically solidified and cut like a loaf a bread, obviously an ingenious substitution to the more expensive yeast-based breads. Still further east in Turkey and as far south as Africa you find polenta made with chickpeas and ancient grains, in the exact same way as was done thousands of years ago.

This is one of the reasons I love this dish. With every bite you can taste the history of it. A journey from the New World to Old Europe, from as far west as France to as far east and Africa and Turkey, even trasncending time as you prepared and are eating the very same dish someone in a village in northern Italy did 500 years ago. It's fascinating to me. So important to keep these traditions alive, to learn about what we are eating and how and why the dish survived. Polenta, simple polenta, helped sustain the poorest of people over thousands of years. It fed the legions of Rome as they conquered half of the world. It provided a muse for Northern Italian farmers as they excitedly explored working with a completely foreign ingredient from a place half a world away.

This is why I eat and research and write this blog! But back to the polenta. How do we make it?

For purposes of polenta, you want to choose cornmeal that is ground course to fine, depending on the dish you wish to prepare and the region the dish is coming from. Romanians and other Eastern Europeans tend to use a courser ground, which produces a thicker polenta; Italians use a finer ground which produces a thinner, creamier consistency. So keep that in mind when choosing your cornmeal at the market.

medium ground polenta, perfect to make smoother or more solid variations

Second, you want the proper tools to cook with. Traditionally polenta was made in big stone pots. God, if I could manage to get my hands on such a thing to make authentic polenta! For now, a good ceramic pot will do. I've made polenta in steel pots but for some reason, it always seems to taste better when I make it in a ceramic one like a Dutch oven. It's not a requirement, but if you've got one then use it. And you need two tools in particular to stir with: a good long-handled whisk and sturdy wooden spoon. At first you will whisk the polenta for maximum water aborption, and then switch to the wooden spoon. I recommend you get both with longer handles if possible, since polenta tends to bubble. A lot.

Now that you've got the proper polenta to work with and tools, we can talk about flavor!

I've made many, many polentas over the years. Again, growing up with the dish (mamaliga for those of you not paying attention) I'm quite sensitive to the various versions and preparations. For this posting, I'll share with you my full proof, 100% amazing Italian style polenta recipe. It's light golden in color, creamy from the fine ground cornmeal and cream (yes I said cream), subtly flavored from the broth I use in place of water (yes I said broth) and finally finsished off with romano cheese. It's balanced, creamy, piping hot, and the perfect side dish. If you can make it that far. I usually end up eating it just by itself it's so good!

Creamy Italian Style Polenta
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
1 cup half n half  (or heavy cream or whole milk, but I do most prefer the combo of half n half)
1 cup fine ground polenta (cornmeal)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup finely grated romano cheese

Place the chicken broth in a large ceramic pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the cornmeal all at once and the salt, and start whisking. Continuing to whisk, bring the polenta back up to a boil. Once boiling, immediately reduce the heat down to low. Cook for 10 minutes, whisking often to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the half n half and whisk to mix in. Once the half n half is incorporated in, switch to the wooden spoon and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes stirring often until the polenta is thick and creamy. As the polenta cooks, the natural starches begin to release -- this is what make the polenta a creamy consistency.

Once you've achieved the proper consistency, taste the polenta (careful - it's hot!) and make sure the polenta is tender. If it tastes gritty then add more broth and continue to cook until the gritty texture is smoothed out (add the broth in 1/2 cup increments if needed). Adjust the polenta with salt to taste (the saltiness will depend on the type of broth you used) and then remove from heat. Add the cheese all at once and mix in. Serve piping hot.


My Notes:
Polenta is an extremely forgiving dish. If you find the polenta tastes too gritty, simply add more liquid. If it tastes too thin, add more polenta. You can play with the ratio to achieve your desired consistency and texture.

Watermelon Tartare

Tuesday, June 7, 2011


This was surprising. It came about in one of those "lighting moments" completely out of the blue. With current dietary constraints, I cannot eat my most beloved sushi. And to satiate the desire, nay primal urge to eat sushi and tuna tartare (another one of my spring-summer favorites), I created this dish. Bright pink seedless watermelon takes center stage, replacing the current no-no tuna or salmon, and the usual suspects of cucumber and avocado flank to support the dish. Instead of going heavy on acid and salt as required to "cook" raw fish, I keep seasoning extremely simple with salt and pepper only and rather focus on the heat with very finely diced serrano chile. Cilantro and a splash of lime finish for maximum freshness. For a subtle velvety texture to weave it all together, good olive oil.

I love this cool and crisp and helping to keep it so, a chilled plate is a must. For fun I like serving it with chopsticks instead of forks or spoons. This is the perfect spring/summer appetizer or even side dish for grilled fish or shrimp. Enjoy it!

Watermelon Tartare
1 cup diced seedless watermelon (rind obviously removed)
1 small cucumber, seeded and diced
1 avocado, seeded and diced
1 serrano chile, very finely diced (or to taste, with or without seeds, etc.)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper (set it to the courser ground if you can)
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

*You want the watermelon, cucumber and avocado to be the same size for the dice so it presents the best. I like a little bit larger dice for this than I'd use for a usual tartare, but the size depends on your preference.

Place the watermelon, cucumber, avocado, and chile in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the cilantro, lime juice and olive oil, and using a spatula, gently mix the salad together and combine. Do not overmix! It will break up the avocado too much and create a mushier appearance! Chill 15 minutes before serving.

To serve, simply scoop out a portion on a chilled plate and gently gather it together into a circular shape. Or, you can use a fancy ring mold if you absolutely have to, but seriously you can just roughly make the the stupid shape and save the ring mold for cutting biscuits or something.

Kitchen Basics: Mr. Oven Thermometer

Friday, June 3, 2011

Say hello to my little friend...


This may come as a shock to you, but not all ovens are the same or work the same way. If you have gas, electric, propane or whatever, your oven will work differently than most people's. Although recipes often use the same cooking temperatures -- 350, 400, etc. -- what you produce will vary depending on your own oven!

I distinctly remember my mother having to crank up our old, borderline antique oven approximately 45 minutes before she wanted to bake something, especially if she was making a cake or pastry of some sort. It took that long to get the oven up to proper and true 350. Now with modern ovens, often we set our oven temperatures digitally and the oven will beep when 350 or our desired temp is achieved. Shockingly, you'll find it probably wasn't so.

Have you noticed your oven seems to cook things faster than the recipe calls for? Have you tried roasting a chicken and the recipe says 450 for the first 30 minutes and the color of the chicken should start to turn golden, but after 15 you notice the top is actually burning? Or maybe the recipe says to cook the chicken a total of 1 1/2 hours and you take yours out, salivating at the aroma and cut in only to find the chicken isn't cooked all the way through? It's not you -- it's your oven! The temperature is off!

I don't know how, I don't know why, all I know is that it is.

I myself experienced this with my oven. Everything seemed to cook faster and the oven sometimes, especially with higher heats, just obliterated my foods. I mean the difference between leaving the cookies or cupcakes in an extra  minute was perfectly done to black. It is that fast. Then finally I invested in an oven thermometer to properly gage the thing. It was shocking what I found...

First, even though my oven beeped when it reached 350 degrees, it actually wasn't at 350 degrees. It consistently showed 25 degrees less the first 20 minutes the oven was on. Meaning, I preheat my oven to 350 and once it beeps, I'd shove my food in and be in reality, cooking it at 325, not 350.

But then around 20 minutes into cooking the temperature jumped up 50 degrees and now it was cooking it 25 degrees over what my oven digitally was telling me. So even though 350 didn't change on the digital, in actuality it was now cooking my food at 375! My food basically had never even seen 350 during its entire time in the oven! Even though my oven digital read "350" the entire time!

I experimented with different temperatures and found the same exact thing happened. So if I was making cupcakes for example, I'd be starting them at 325 and then finishing them at 375 without me even knowing, which completely and totally explains why my foods tended to burn towards the end! After experimenting, I found my oven's true 350 was actually me setting it at 335 (!) and waiting about 20 minutes before I put food in.

Because using our ovens are so important in cooking, I highly recommend buying an oven thermometer. Especially if you do or plan to do a lot of baking or roasting, the different especially with baking of a 50 degree swing is huge. To test it out, simply hang or place your oven thermometer in the middle of your oven and gage:

(1) how long does it take to truly get the 350 degrees temperature, 375, etc.;

(2) what the true temperature is that you must manually set your oven to in order to achieve the desired cooking temperature;

and finally,

(3) move the thermometer around the oven -- the middle, top and bottom, sides, up and down -- to see how evenly your oven cooks all around.

Sometimes ovens will have "cold spots" -- meaning half of the oven will cook faster than the other half, or perhaps heat conducts better towards the bottom rather than the top. This way you can move your oven racks according to what you're cooking. For example, if doing a cake and your bottom oven works harder than the middle or top, you may want to raise the oven rack higher and cook the cake further away from the bottom to prevent burning. Or perhaps the right side gets less heat than the left -- this means you'll have to remember to turn your food halfway between cooking to ensure even cooking on both sides of the dish.

You can purchase an oven thermometer at most grocery stores and other kitchen supply stores. They're inexpensive -- about $10 -- and will save you a lot of grief in the kitchen.

Berry Blues: Blueberry-Raspberry Crumble

Wednesday, June 1, 2011


The picture is a tad out of focus because I was taking it in the rain outside. Ah such is the life in Seattle. At any rate, I picked up some fabulous berries and went a tad overboard. As in, I bought pounds and pounds and pounds of various berries to work with and experiment with for different foods. Strangely, I felt like a berry crumble. I know crumbles are more traditionally made with stone fruits (apples, peaches, plums, etc.) but I desperately craved the crunch of the crumble topping.

Here's a very simple recipe for berry crumble using blueberries and raspberries. The blueberries offer natural sweetness and gorgeous color and texture while the raspberries combat it with natural tartness. The topping is super simple also. I didn't add any spices whatsoever to this crumble (usually I'll add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg or what have you); I really wanted the berries themselves to stand out and the topping to more so offer crunch rather than flavors.

It turned out great, and was very refreshing. It didn't even need the proverbial ice cream.

Blueberry Raspberry Crumble
2 pints blueberries
2 pints raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (estimate it)
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tsp orange zest (might as well, you're juicing the orange anyway)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the blueberries, raspberries, sugar, orange juice and zest in a mixing bowl and toss to coat the fruit in the sugar and juices. Pour this mixture out into a casserole dish.

In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. Then add the butter and using your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until the pieces break up and are the size roughly of peas. Conversely you can mix all of this in the standing mixer.

Sprinkle the topping over the fruit evenly covering it. You want a generous layer, but depending on the size of your casserole dish, you may have a little topping left over.

Bake in oven for about an hour, or until fruit is bubbling and top is golden brown and crisp. Serve piping hot.