Pear Crisp with Miso and Pecans
When autumn rolls around I, like many, have mixed feelings. Less sunlight. Cooler temperatures. The official end of summer, which I feel a bit sad about even though I am no longer a student and haven’t been for quite some time.
In my life I am a seeker of balance. Cool, dry and windy outside? Well, it is time for something warm, gooey and sturdy. Recently I was back home in Wisconsin and I received a glut of pears from my brother’s neighbor. They weren’t quite ripe yet and I was about to head back to California so waiting for them to ripen was off the table. I remember years ago I made an apple crisp for my parents and they loved it. Perhaps try it out with pear? Since I must tamper and tinker with any “classic” dish I opted for miso and believe you me that was the right choice. It’s not enough to make you think that it obviously has miso but it brings a little bit more depth and a touch of salt, which I think are in too short of supply in the dessert world.
INGREDIENTS
Fruit filling
2 ½ pounds (1.25kg) pears (about 9 small-medium), cored and cut into 1” chunks
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 small lemon, zested and juiced
Pinch of salt
Topping
⅓ c (35g) rolled oats
⅔ c (85g) pecans
2 Tbsp (15g) flour
½ c (95g) brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp (85g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1 Tbsp white miso
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Mix all fruit filling ingredients together in a medium bowl and transfer to a very deep 9” pie plate or a 9”x13” baking dish.
In a food processor add the oats, pecans, flour, sugar, cinamon, nutmeg and salt together. Pulse several times until the oats and nuts are the size of small pebbles.
Add the butter cubes and miso. Process until evenly distributed and the mixture looks like wet, slightly clumpy sand. Do not overprocess as this will result in less texture and crunch.
Distribute the topping evenly over the pear mixture and transfer to the oven. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the topping is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling. Serve warm, ideally with a dollop of yogurt or a scoop of ice cream.
Serves: 6-8
NOTES
This crisp is heavy on the fruit and lighter on the crisp. If you prefer more crunch then multiply all topping ingredients by 1.5.
If there are any leftovers consider serving with oatmeal the next day for breakfast or folding it into pancake batter.
