A Winnie Crumble

I love crumbles. It's incredibly easy to make, and it's workable with any fruit (well, almost. Some of them don't like behing cooked. Who can blame them?). Now that's a quick, simple and effective dessert. But that doesn't mean it can't have refinement. Look. 

Yesterday, I wanted to make one. I only had a pear and two apples left (and in the UK supermarkets, they tend to be smaller, as opposed to bags of sweets, but that's an other topic). And considering I'm crazy about honey, I constantly have a jar ready. However, the ingredient that I wanted to test more than anything else was the rosemary, which I can be easily found here with all other herbs. Within the past few days, I've been adding some in all my dishes and it never ceases to amaze me. I'm like that. As long as I have a specific ingredient, I'll try do do as many thing as I can, and challenge my taste buds.

So what I did to end a simple dinner was bringing a perfume of Provence, as warm and mellow as a bear (yet you can also replace it by a sweet colorful wine).

Ingredients for 2 of apple / pear crumbles with honey and rosemary 

for stewed fruits: 

1 small pear 

2 small apples 

1 large teaspoon of honey 

1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary 

for the top dough: 

1 heaping tablespoon flour 

1 tablespoon brown sugar (Brown Sugar forever!) 

30g butter, softened 

In a saucepan, cut your fruits into thin quarters and add a few tablespoons of water. Add honey and rosemary and let simmer for 15 minutes, while stirring regularly. The fruits should remain a little crunchy. 

Preheat oven to 180 ° C. 

In a bowl, pour the flour, sugar and butter cut into small cubes. Work the dough with your fingertips until the mixture is friable (I did not say dusty, it's got to stick a little!). 

Divide the fruits into two ramekins, and crumble the dough on top, until it covers the entire surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes, and enjoy warm. Although the crumbles tend to burn the tongue when eaten immediately. So be careful.

Detail from Mela Muter's painting (around 1920), depicting the sculptor François Pompon in his studio, most commonly known for his monumental Polar bear "L'Ours Blanc", currently exposed at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.