Nectarine, fig, plum and nut crumble

We were very challenged by a glut of green figs from the trees in our garden as we have not cooked with them before. Surprisingly for beginners, we have really enjoyed the results. We searched a while for a good fig crumble recipe but found nothing. In the end we have adapted a plum crumble recipe from Nigella Lawson, changed the fruit and have given it a more nutty topping. This went down a treat with my parents.  It also goes to prove that you can put almost any fruit in a crumble and make the topping as nutty as you like!

Foodstuff you will need: 

Filling:

1 kg fresh green figs

6 plums

2 nectarines

30g unsalted butter

4 tablespoons soft brown sugar

1 tablespoon of plain or cornflour

Crumble topping:

150g cold unsalted butter

250g self raising flour

150g soft brown sugar

200g mixed nuts

Equipment:

Chopping board and sharp knife

Large Buttered pie dish (for this amount of fruit we used a 30cm long dish but use 2 of other sizes if you cannot fit all the fruit in)

Electric food mixer to chop nuts

Large bowl for crumble

Small bowl

How to throw it together

Pre heat the oven to 190C and put in a baking sheet

Take top stalk and a slice off the bottom (thicker skin) from each of the figs.

Half or quarter all the fruit and place in dish cut side up

Dot with butter, sprinkle on the sugar and place in the oven uncovered for about 20 minutes

Make the crumble topping whilst this is cooking

Rub butter into flour with fingers in large bowl

Remove a few of the nuts (the one you want to keep whole) and finely chop all the rest in a food mixer

Add the nuts (chopped and whole nuts) and sugar to the crumble mixture and mix with a fork.

Remove fruit from oven (after 20 mins) and spoon a little of the juices into a small bowl. Add the flour and stir into a paste. Add this mixture back into the fruit and stir well

Add the crumble topping on top of the fruit, and press down lightly at the edges

Put the crumble back into the oven on the baking tray (to capture any overflow)

Cook for 25 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown

Eat with cream or vanilla ice cream