Plum Cardamom Crumble with Pistachios

On the rare occasion you need an “excuse” to use up fruit before it goes bad, well, that’s what crumbles are for. All of these juices will overflow a standard pie dish and you’ll end up with burnt fruit caramel on your oven floor. For this crumble recipe, make sure to use a deep pie dish, or an 8x8x2" baking dish will work well too.

3 lbs ripe plums, sliced ⅓" thick (~ 8 cups)
2 tsp. lemon zest, finely grated
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
¼ cup cornstarch
½ cup + ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. sea salt, divided
¾ tsp. ground cardamom or ground cinnamon, divided
¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
6 Tbsp. butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp. raw pistachios, coarsely chopped

Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Toss plums, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. cardamom in a large bowl; let sit until some juices accumulate, 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pulse flour and remaining ⅓ cup brown sugar, ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. cardamom in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture is very sandy and starts to form larger clumps.

Transfer plums and their juices to a 9" diameter deep pie dish (all of those fruit juices will overflow a standard one) or an 8x8x2" baking dish. Scatter topping over fruit, squeezing small fistfuls in your hand to bring it together, then breaking into smaller pieces of varying sizes. Sprinkle pistachios evenly over topping.

Bake crumble until juices are thickened and bubbling and top is golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Makes 8 servings.