In the way that some women are 'bag ladies', I am an apricot lady. I regularly impulse-buy and hoard these gorgeous fruits, becoming rather untrendily obsessive about them during the summer months. It's rare to find me without a punnet of apricots in my bag, a spontaneous purchase from some market or shop because they just looked too good. I think it's the same with early-season rhubarb, with its slender, hot-pink stalks - like a mad bull or a bee I'm attracted to those bright colours and find myself stockpiling these edible jewels on a regular basis. No fruit lures in my gaze quite like the rosy apricot, though, with its beautiful marigold blushes, and no fruit proves so versatile in my kitchen during the warmer part of the year.
This summer, my kitchen has already seen apricot ice cream, apricot cheesecake bars, apricot granola bars and apricots poached in chamomile tea. Faced with a beautiful pile of particularly plump apricots this morning, I sought comfort in the familiar and made a breakfast crumble. If you read this blog regularly you'll know that this is a staple morning foodstuff of mine, whether it's a rhubarb and blueberry version, a pear, gooseberry and elderflower variation or a comforting mix of bananas, blueberries and pecans. You can whip these up with nearly any fruit, varying the choice of flavourings and additions to suit your taste and desires. The base is always the same - a layer of two fruits, one of which is a berry of some sort, mixed with some spices and maybe a little liquid (elderflower cordial is good with gooseberries), then topped with a crunchy mixture of oats and a little flour, bound together with maple syrup, olive oil and almond or vanilla extract, flavoured with spices and topped with nuts or seeds for some extra texture. Almonds are great with stone fruit, while hazelnuts are great with apples and pears, and pecans belong with bananas.
In the summer I also experiment with adding herbs from the garden to the fruit. Rosemary is excellent in a peach and blackcurrant version, and recently I tried apricots with lemon thyme. This morning I tried lavender, which, combined with apricots, is the most Provençale flavour pairing you can imagine. They look beautiful together, the combination of marigold orange and delicate lilac whispering of Mediterranean sun. I used honey in the crumble instead of my usual maple syrup, because it seems like the natural pairing with apricots, and a hint of warm spice - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg - to add depth and fragrance. The apricots soften in the oven, turning jammy and tart, while the blueberries burst and add their gorgeous purple juice and sweetness to the mixture. The lavender adds a subtle perfume, heightening the tartness of the fruit, without tasting like you've swallowed a bar of soap. The crumble is deliciously crunchy on top, but gooey and fragrant underneath where it's soaked up the fruit juices.
This is real treat for breakfast - it takes very little time to put together, but is a beautiful celebration of all that is wonderful about summer: stone fruit, young herbs and sweet berries.
Apricot, blueberry and lavender breakfast crumble (serves 2-4, depending on greed):
- 8 large apricots
- 120g blueberries
- 1 tsp dried lavender buds
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 150g jumbo oats
- 40g rye or spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 4 tbsp flaked almonds
Pre-heat the oven to 170C. Halve and stone the apricots and cut each half into four wedges. Scatter evenly over the bottom of a baking dish, then toss together with the lavender, blueberries, cinnamon, ginger and 2 tbsp of water. In a small bowl, mix together the oats, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt, then whisk together the olive oil, honey, water and almond extract in a separate jug. Add the liquid to the oats and mix well to combine. Scatter this mixture over the apricots, mixing into the fruit a little but leaving most of it on the top. Scatter over the almonds. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the crumble is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving.