Sunday, June 10, 2012

Mixed Berry Breakfast Crisp with Hazelnut Almond Topping

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How do you show love?  Love notes, gifts, affection?  I suppose that even picking up someone's dry cleaning can be a caring act.  I've come to believe that I show love most often through food.  Whether it's for a child, a sibling, parent or husband, I can spoil (rich chocolate pudding), provide nutrients, or appeal to the need for comfort with something unexpected like a breakfast crisp.  To me this says, "I love you."

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I made this on a Sunday morning and told my husband to wait and see what was in the oven before making his usual breakfast.  It's oddly close to his morning routine of late: yogurt, homemade granola and berries.  But something bubbling on it's way out of the oven steps things up a notch.  It feels like dessert but has a tiny fraction of the sugar.  

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So I'm curious, what do you do?  How do you show love? 

Mixed Berry Breakfast Crisp with Hazelnut Almond Topping
Serves 6

Since berries are one of the most highly sprayed crops, I recommend paying the extra money and buying organic.  You can use frozen berries, in which case do not defrost them.  The end result may be a bit juicier if using frozen.  If you feel like having this for dessert, replace the greek yogurt with some ice cream.  

6 cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
zest of 1/2 orange
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, cold
3/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup slivered almonds

Place the mixed berries in a deep baking dish, sprinkle with orange zest and sugar. 
Place the flour, hazelnut meal, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in the food processor, then add the stick of butter which you have cut into about 8 slices.  Pulse 5-6 times.  Then add the rolled oats and pulse another 3-4 times, taking care not to over process the oats.  With your hands, mix in the slivered almonds, then lay the crisp topping over the berries in the baking dish.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Serve hot or room temperature with greek yogurt mixed with a little maple syrup. 

9 comments:

  1. sending love your way!! I show love by doing. Doing and doing.

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  2. I totally agree, for those of us who enjoy cooking, love is best shown through what we make especially for those we care about.

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  3. I would chose this sweet dish to show my love to somebody, for sure. Looks wonderful!

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  4. My usual breakfast is Greek yogurt with fruit--in season berries--and nuts. But I would love to wake up to this gorgeous berry crisp for breakfast.

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  5. Beautiful - I'll eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner any day.

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  6. Your crisp looks so good. I like the addition of hazelnut meal and I've never mixed Greek yogurt with maple syrup. Great idea. I believe the best way to show love is to share your time with those you love.

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  7. I love cooking for others as well, it's so nurturing and fun to do! Plus I love to see a smile across their face after they take the first bite!

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  8. Love the look of that crisp---not unlike my plum crumble--but more complex. Food has long been my way to give love. My friends have laughed, that in their times of turmoil, I would always ask, Have you eaten? Let me make you something."

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  9. sounds sweet (in the loverly sense) and divine too!

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