Grandma’s Low-Fat Fruit Crumble

Use blueberries, plums, or nectarines; peaches are okay, too, except you have to peel them. In the fall, I use tart apples like Granny Smiths, unpeeled and sliced thin. I sometimes mix the apples with half a cup of slivered dried apricots. This is a low-fat version. Needless to say, it’s better with butter.

3 pints blueberries or 5 cups sliced plums, nectarines, or Granny Smith apples

1⁄2 cup sugar (plus 4 tbsp. more if the plums are very sour)

3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca

3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. canola oil

1⁄2 cup uncooked oatmeal or Grape-Nuts

Low-fat cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Spray an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Wash berries or fruit. Slice if you’re using nectarines, plums, or apples (1⁄3-inch slices for nectarines and plums, thinner for apples).

Put fruit in a bowl, add sugar, 1 tablespoon of the orange juice, and tapioca, then mix it up well with a wooden spoon. Spoon into baking dish.

Mix flour and brown sugar by hand in another bowl or in the food processor. Add the canola oil and 2 tablespoons of orange juice and mix again with the wooden spoon or pulse in the food processor till it makes lumps. Stir in oatmeal or Grape-Nuts. Spoon this topping over the fruit, covering it as much as you can. Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, till fruit feels soft to your fork and the top is golden brown. If fruit cooks before the top colors, brown under broiler. Let cool.

Serves 8 to 10.

This dish can be garnished with a sweet yogurt cream or you can pass the cream in a separate dish at the table.

Sweet yogurt cream:

2⁄3 cup no-fat plain yogurt

1⁄4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. dark rum

Stir brown sugar, vanilla, and rum into yogurt and pour into a pretty pitcher or a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge at least 20 minutes to dissolve any sugar bumps. Stir again before serving.



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