Sept. 04--This is streusel season -- whether you pronounce it STROY-suhl or STREW-suhl. The reason? Stone fruits like peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots are in farmers markets just waiting for you to indulge your sweet tooth with an assist from a rich, crunchy streusel.
At least that's the visions of sugared plums that danced in our head after chatting with Kim Schmuhl at the Museum of Contemporary Art's SOAR Farmers Market, held Tuesdays 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. through October 27 outside of the MCA (220 E. Chicago Ave.). We found her at the Noffke Farms stand, where six different plums, from deep purple Victory to Early Golds, were on display.
Deep purple plums -- the round Victory and the elongated Italian -- are great for baking, Schmuhl said. Crimsons and Ozarks, with their red skins and yellow flesh, also work in streusel, while the Bubblegums (yes they smell like bubblegum) and Early Golds have a tart skin and are best for eating.
I've been adding rolled oats to my streusel for the extra crunch it adds for several years now, which purists may contend means I've been making crumble. It doesn't matter -- it's delicious.
We found a similar recipe in the Chicago Tribune's files from Stephanie Samuels of the now-closed Angel Food Bakery:
Nectarine-plum crumble: Slice 6 plums and 5 nectarines; mix slices with 1/4 cup each sugar and orange juice plus 3 tablespoons flour. Pile mixture into a greased 13- by 9-inch baking pan. To make crumble topping, combine 1 cup each: granulated sugar, light brown sugar, flour and rolled oats. Add 1 tablespoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspon salt. Cut 1 cup (2 sticks) butter into pieces. Add pieces in small amounts to the bowl, mixing with your fingers just until crumbly. Sprinkle over prepared fruit. Bake in a 350-degree oven until the top is browned and fruit bubbles in the center, about 35 minutes. Cool 20 minutes before serving.
(If using this mixture to top a smaller amount of fruit, know that extra topping freezes well.)
jhevrdejs@tribpub.com
Twitter @judytrib
