Mirabelle Plum Crumble

I had been in Dubai recently and brought some cardamom from there. It’s been almost a month now that I keep telling myself that I need to use it in my cooking…but for some reason haven’t been motivated. The other day however as I was doing some food shopping, some Mirabelle Plums captured my attention. Their glowing yellow colour and round form looked like miniature suns, and they seemed to go so well with the beautiful sunny weather that we’ve been having these last few days. So my purchase decision was made in less then a second, and back home I was wondering what to do with these plums now. As usual, I buy stuff without really knowing what I want to do with it, and it’s only once I’ve paid that my brain starts thinking. You can say that I am very much of a spontaneous or impulsive shopper!

Above: Cardamon

Then I remember the cardamom, and I remember some other ingredients lying around the house too- pistachios, sesame oil, ricotta… And so I thought to myself that a fruit crumble would be a great way to finish a meaty dish (veal to be precise, I will post about it soon). I could not imagine a gooey rich chocolate type delicacy after a satisfying meat dish, so it was 1-0 for the crumble.

Above: Mirabelle Plums

It is rare that I go for “simple”, but this time it was really what I was craving for, so a crumble was perfect, but nonetheless I did not want to just make a regular apple crumble or what not. I think I was inspired by Mediterranean ingredients, which explains the ricotta and medley of pistachios, cardamom and sesame oil. It’s the first time I use cardamom in a crumble, and all I can say is that I have absolutely no regret- it’s now my new fetish ingredient!

Recipe for Mirabelle Plum Crumble with Cardamon & Pistachio:

(Note: I am not indicating exact measures here sorry, I don't really measure when making crumbles!)

Ingredients:

• Mirabelle Plums, seeds removed.
• Flour
• Sugar
• Butter
• Sesame oil
• Pistachios, crushed
• Cardamon, ground (count a generous teaspoon for 4 servings)
• Ricotta (optional)

How to make it:

Preheat oven. In a bowl, mix plums with some crushed pistachios (and sugar, optional. I personally don't like my crumble too sweet). In your crumble containers/pots, fill about 3/4 with the mirabelle plums. In a seperate bowl, mix flour, sugar, cardamon, butter (use less butter then you usually would) and sesame oil (which will add a really distinctive taste to the crumble). With your hands, mix until it becomes crumby, and top this off on the fruits. Bake in oven for about 15/20 minutes, and then put under grill for a golden colour. Serve with a cloud of ricotta (optional).