This bright and bibulous berry crumble is from my forthcoming eBook The Mesolithic Diet for Mind and Body. I call it an “almost” Mesolithic concoction because, while the mid-stoneage denizens were an inventive lot, they almost certainly had no dairy industry. Nevertheless, they did forage for nuts and berries and fruit, and evidently honey and maple syrup were a rare and welcome luxury, too.
Ingredients
450 g fresh or frozen mixed berries – a combination of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries is nice.
Juice of one orange
¼ cup hazelnut meal
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
60g butter
1 generous tablespoon honey or maple syrup
Method
- Place berries and orange juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a little water if the mixture is perilously close to becoming the Sahara desert. Drain excess juice, but leave enough so the berries can still paddle, then place them in a small-to-medium size baking dish.
- While the berries are languishing, have a go at making the topping.
Topping
- Toss the almond meal, coconut, hazelnut meal and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Chop butter and rub it into the dry mix with your fingertips until it turns into small clumps.
- Add honey or maple syrup and form into a ball.
- Crumble pieces of the dough evenly over the berries
- Bake in a 180 degree celcius oven for 25-30 minutes.
- This splendid sweet goes well with Greek yoghurt, but I prefer it unadorned.
Looks utterly gorgeous! I’m keen to try it with the blackberries we picked this autumn (frozen and waiting). Btw I have made a similar crumble using coconut oil instead of butter – very light. For those who need to be dairy-free!