Berry Blues: Blueberry-Raspberry Crumble

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.