Summer Fresh Recipe Series: Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp

Nothing tastes more like summer than juicy sweet peaches with bursts of tart blueberries laced with ginger, all topped with a crunchy buttery topping.  

We made it to August! Can you believe how this summer is flying by.  Since I love summer, I really would like it to slow down a bit so I can savor the long evenings.  But the dog days of August are around the corner and they are typically our hottest weather.  We're topping 100 degrees today already.

Today I'm presenting my 10th installment of my Summer Fresh Recipe Series of quick and easy recipes to make using summer produce.  Today we are talking desserts.  Summer desserts remind me of fresh fruit pies, cobblers, and crisps, along with a big scoop of ice cream for good measure!  So today I am featuring peaches and blueberries as our main ingredient.  What would summer be without them?

PEACH BLUEBERRY & GINGER CRISP

This really is an easy dessert to throw together and you can use the recipe as a base recipe for all sorts of fruit variations, just follow the recipe and adjust the sugar up or down (1/2 - 3/4 cup should work) depending on how sweet your fruit is.  I chose peaches and blueberries because I love the flavor combination, and added ginger for a little warmth.  

The topping is a typical crisp topping of oats, flour, brown sugar, and butter, with the addition of some cinnamon and almonds for warmth and crispy bites.  This can be used as a base topping for all your crisp.  Don't like almonds, switch to pecans, or leave them out completely.  This makes a really crumbly butter topping that is hard to resist.

Eat this straight from the oven, all warm and bubbly with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Or make it early in the morning to beat the heat, then reheat portions of it in the microwave or eat it cold.  Any way you service it this dessert will be the hit of the menu!

Kitchen Note:  Our peaches here in California are not quite ripe yet so I used frozen peaches.  If your peaches are ripe, by all mean use them. They are the best!  

Enjoy!



Summer Fresh Recipe Series

• Grilled Sirloin Steak with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
• Grilled Vegetable Platter
• Sirloin Steak topped with Herb Salsa with Roasted Potatoes & Carrots
• Lemon Blueberry Scones
• Grilled Honey Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots & Brocollini
• Lemon Raspberry Dutch Baby
• Simple Mediterranean Salad
• Grilled Chicken Kofta
• Greek Cobb Salad

Peach Blueberry & Ginger Crisp

serves:  4-6


Topping:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

Filing:
1 1/2 lbs. frozen peaches (or fresh peaches)
1 pint blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare topping.  In a medium bowl add oats, almonds, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Cut in 6 Tbsp cold butter with a pastry cutter or 2 forks, until mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.

To a large bowl add your peaches and blueberries.  Top with the sugar and ginger and stir until coated.  Add lemon juice and cornstarch and stir until all combined.

Place mixture in a pie pan or an 8x8 baking dish.  Top with crisp topping and pop it in the oven to bake for about 40-45 minutes, until peaches are tenders and fruit is bubbling.  You may need to cover the top with foil about 30 minutes in to prevent over browning of the topping.  

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Serve with ice cream if desired.