Apple and Walnut Crumble

Sunday afternoon... very tired... I should be studying... the pantry is getting low again, everyone but me is out of the house and I can't drive... I have a busy week ahead and not much time to plough through the recipes... what can I make for dinner??

166. Apple and Walnut Crumble (One & Two)

Nigella says that this can be eaten as supper in its entirety for two people. Mum and I were the only ones at home tonight, and she said she was up for it, so why not? And after Wednesday night's orgasmic translucent apple tart, I was very excited at the prospect of another warm apple dessert.

Crumble topping, according to Nigella, is "pastry really, but without the fear factor". Now, even though I'm not scared of pastry, (risotti and custards, on the other hand, still give me nightmares), I was happy to find a reasurringly easy recipe.

To make the topping, rub butter into flour, add brown sugar and chopped walnuts, then stash in the deep freeze until baking time.


Crumble topping, pre-mixing

The filling is sliced apples, cooked with marsala-soaked sultanas and more sugar.


Filling


Crumble, pre-oven

Ok, so while the delicious smelling crumble was in the oven, I had a bit of a panic attack. As delicious and life-affirming as it may have been to have a just a pudding for dinner, (and thus, very Nigella-like), I realised that I just wouldn't be able to handle it. A nice little treat is one thing - wallowing self-indulgently in pure carby comfort is another. So I whipped up a more sensible and conventional small meal to eat prior to the crumble - Nigella's mushroom udon soup (Low Fat), which I can now make without a recipe! The udon soup takes about 15 minutes in total and is even easier to eat.


Mushroom Udon Soup - with added lettuce because we had it in the fridge. Goddamn I love udon. SLURP.

Well, after the noodles, we obviously couldn't eat the whole crumble - but we gave it a good go. We got about two thirds of the way through.


Baked Crumble

I do have to note here that this is a 24cm pie dish, and I have previously made crumble in it which was enough to feed 5 people. But, this crumble was very shallow, so I think the quantities Nigella specifies would be fine for 2 people as a meal, or 4 people as dessert.


Crumble with Vanilla Ice-cream - perhaps the most food-porn of my photos, don't you think?

What a wonderful crumble. The marsala-soaked sultanas and walnuts are a welcome addition to an already lovely dessert. The way I made it, (shallow dish, small apples) the crumble-to-filling ratio was quite high, just the way I like it. A touch of cinnamon in the crumble topping would have been nice too. Next time, next time...