Recipe 36: Le Creuset Apple Crisp, guest starring the Ashalt Kitchen

The Asphalt Kitchen, working the grill at sundown.

Remember when I told you I had more recipes to post, and soon?  Probably not, because that was like...months and days and weeks and hours ago.  Oops.  October got crazy busy, and someone lost the motivation to actually take the time to write things up.  But here I am now!  It's me, snitches!  Here to learn you good how to make a delicious Dutch Oven Apple Crisp, one so good and warm and cozy you'll want to take it on the road with you to the (insert college or professional football team name here) tailgate next weekend, now that it's football season and all.

Grilled corn, roasted radishes and
peppers, caprese salad, bread, vino,
and apple crisp.  Our tailgate is
better than your tailgate!

In fact, this recipe is a mashup of blogs!  The Asphalt Kitchen and I got together and decided we wanted to do a Le Creuset recipe at a tailgate. Obvi, we needed to cook it on the grill, so we immediately ruled out Blue for his largeness.  Neither of us had done too much desert cooking, and we both are suckers for baked applely things, and, let's be honest, this one isn't rocket science.  We were sold!  We also realized that with the lid on, the apple crisp would lose its crispness due to the steaming effect, and thought it was a dish best cooked somewhat in advance, and heated to finish cooking in the moment.   Obvi again, if you don't have a tailgate to attend, you can just cook this at home and finish cooking it in the over, or toss it on a burner for the last ten minutes should you want to recreate.  In the interest of full disclosure, we have no idea where the recipe came from, except from the internets, and it may have been a combination of recipes, and we definitely also took some creative liberties.  Sorry original recipe creator!  If I were to do this again, which I probably will, I'd add in some raisins or dried cranberries.  Yum! I would also recommend this as a great breakfast treat served, with some Greek yogurt.  Double yum! And finally, as the Asphalt Kitchen notes, it's better to use an apple that won't turn entirely into mush with the cooking; aim for something crispy and slightly tart (unless you really like super sweet and mushy apple crisp).




Before I get into it, we had an abundance of farmshare veggies, so we roasted them up.  The recipe below is a bonus!

Dutch Oven Apple Crisp

Recipe after the jump:

Le Creuset Apple Crisp

Adapted from somewhere to fit your Dutch Oven, punk.

Serves about six, but realistically four

Ingredients:

Filling

•   6 cups tart apples, cored and chopped into 1 inch chunks (you can peel or not peel them; we didn't peel and it was fine)
•   1 teaspoon lemon zest
•   Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

Topping

•   1/2 cup all-purpose flour
•   1/4 cup granulated sugar
•   1/4 cup light brown sugar
•   1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
•   1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
•   1/8 teaspoon salt
•   6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
•   1/3 cup rolled oats
•   1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat your real oven to about 400.
2. Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl, add them to your Le Creuset.
3. Combine the topping ingredients in another bowl using your fingers, until the mixture resembles a meal and the chunks of butter have been mostly incorporated.
4. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, until the topping has become golden brown and it lightly bubbles delicious juices along the sides.  Add 10 minutes to this time if you are not transferring to a grill to complete cooking.
5. If you are tailgating or grilling, about ten minutes prior to eating time, place your Dutch Oven on the grill on medium high for about ten minutes, covered.  When it starts to bubble regularly again, it is done.  
6. Eat!  (If tailgating, make sure you have something heat resistant to serve it in; red solo cups seemed to work fine.)  Serve w/ice cream for ala mode, or with Greek yogurt for a breakfast treat.

Bonus Recipe!

Roasted Radishes

AKA the only way I want to eat these from now on. (Photo via The Asphalt Kitchen)

Ingredients

• Radishes
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Clean your radishes, removing greens and any roots.
3. Slice in half if they are larger to shorten cooking time.
4. Toss w/salt and pepper (any any other spices you want).
5. Place in a roasting tray and roast for 30-40 minutes, shaking the pan about halfway through.  
6. Enjoy hot or cold!