TasteFood: When life gives you stone fruit, make a crisp

I am a glutton when it comes to summer stone fruit. There is a window of time when nectarines, peaches, apricots and plums run rampant at the market. Mottled in vibrant swaths of purple, crimson and orange, their flesh is a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and winey flavors. I could eat them all day long, but then my stomach would hurt.

When these fruity gifts are abundant, I usually overshop. It is an issue. My kitchen counters are lined with bowls and platters piled with fruit. So it’s no surprise that, even in my house, all the fruit can’t be eaten at their peak of ripeness. Some pieces become a little too ripe, buried at the bottom of the bowl, or even passed over for the newest batch from the market. As mentioned, I have indulgence issues.

This is an opportunity to make a crisp. It’s the dessert equivalent to a homey vegetable soup. Gather up all the ripe, somewhat passed fruit (as you might with vegetables for a soup), cut and chop, and spread a thick layer in a compact baking dish. Garnish with berries, if you like — we’re talking summer fruit, after all — and pile on a streusel topping.

In this recipe, raspberries team up with nectarines. The natural tartness of the raspberries matches the juicy tang of the nectarines. A little sugar and lemon help to produce a rich, murky, sweet-but-not-cloying filling. Once baked, it should cool to allow the filling to set and let the flavors develop. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Nectarine and Raspberry Crisp

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in small cubes

Filling:

2 pounds nectarines (about 8) pitted, cut in 3/4-inch chunks

8 ounces raspberries

3 tablespoons sugar

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the topping: Combine the flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (The topping may be prepared one day in advance. Cover and refrigerate until use.)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the nectarines and raspberries in a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar, lemon zest and cardamom over the fruit and gently stir to combine. Cover the fruit evenly with a thick layer of topping.

Bake in the oven until the fruit is bubbling, and the topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack. As the crisp cools, the filling will set. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Lynda Balslev is a San Francisco Bay Area cookbook author, food and travel writer and recipe developer.