I’ll admit I don’t usually love apples, and I don’t usually love apple desserts, but when I tasted the spartan apples in the Lufa Farms Fresh Basket I was more than a little shocked by how good they were. Apparently it’s actually very hard to grow apples organically and these apples from a local organic supplier are like fruit treasure – rare and valuable. Normally my so-so quality apples are reserved for making applesauce to use as a butter partial substitute and moistener in baked goods, but when an apple tastes this good I prefer to eat it raw…or turn it into the best apple crisp/crumble I’ve ever made. And gluten-free to boot! No bland, paste-y rice flour here either! Hunting down chickpea flour if you have trouble with wheat and gluten adds a wonderful nuttiness to the crumble that works perfectly with the sweet and sour nature of the apples. The only problem? Saving up 9 of those spartans for the crumble. Maybe try bartering crumble for apples with your next door box neighbour (aka the person whose box is next to yours at your local Lufa Farms Fresh Basket pick-up spot). One tip: if you have cinnamon sticks, grind 1 large stick in a coffee grinder for a fresher cinnamon flavour.

Filling Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar or mild-flavoured honey (reduced from the original recipe’s 1 cup, since the apples are so sweet already. The Anicet honey from the Lufa Farms Fresh Basket would work well, but for the pure flavour of the Spartan apples, stick with regular sugar)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

5 tbsp unsalted butter (or 2 tbsp hazelnut oil or other oil. I use hazelnut oil from local company La Maison Orphée to complement the nutty flavour of the gluten-free chickpea flour in the topping. It’s available at major grocery stores. The oil quantity is reduced because it doesn’t create a caramel like the butter would. The nutty flavour is a decent trade-off, especially if you’re lactose-intolerant or watching your cholesterol)

9 small apples (or other apples equal to about 8 or 9 cups), peeled, cored, and cut into a 1-inch dice (not sliced as for pie!)

1 vanilla bean, split (vanilla is essential for flavour here, but you can also use 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Add it at the end with the lemon juice. If you use a real vanilla bean, after scraping out the seeds, toss the husk into a container or bag of sugar and leave it indefinitely. You’ll have vanilla sugar in a few days)

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch (not chickpea flour as it doesn’t thicken in the same way)

1 squeeze of lemon juice (up to half a lemon’s worth of juice, to taste)

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour (or regular flour, or quinoa flour)

1/2 cup dark brown sugar (you could use honey, but it will change the consistency of the crumbs – they’ll be more clumpy than crumbly)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

8 tbsp butter (or 5 tbsp oil. I used hazelnut oil. The oil quanitity is reduced because you end up with “apple clumps” instead of “crumble” if you use too much)

Directions:

To make the filling, combine the 1 cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in a bowl. Melt the 5 tbsp butter (or heat the 2 tbsp oil) in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the skillet and stir.

Cook the apples for about 5 minutes, or until they just begin to soften. The smaller the pieces, the faster they will soften. Add the cornstarch or potato starch and cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until the liquid starts to thicken and the starch is completely stirred in.

Remove the skillet from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice. Taste. Add more lemon if it tastes too sweet or just not…enough. Lemon brings out all the other flavours, so don’t be scared to add just a little bit extra. There is such a thing as too much, but up to 1/2 a half lemon’s worth of juice is probably safe. Keep tasting as you go – adding just a little at a time and stirring well to combine – if you’re scared. There’s no shame in that.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour the apple filling into an 8-inch round or square cake or baking pan (for a piled high crumble) or a 9-inch baking dish or casserole for a flatter version. Really you can make it in any dish. It just depends on how much topping to apple ratio you like per bite.

To make the topping combine the chickpea flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold butter with a fork or your clean fingertips (tips only – so the butter stays colder) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Some people like denser crumbs than others. Or, if using oil instead of butter, pour it in a few tablespoons at a time, and use a fork or your clean fingers to combine it into crumbly bits. Only add as much oil as you need to achieve the texture you desire. I made some very crumbly crumbs, poured them over the apple filling, and then add more oil to the remaining crumbs to get some clumps as well. Best of both worlds.

Whichever way you choose, pour the crumble topping over the apples and pop the baking dish into the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden brown (the chickpea flour browns more slowly, but is already naturally more brown than regular flour, so leaving it even up to 45 minutes is probably fine. If apples start to smell as if they’re burning, it’s very much done).

Enjoy with a spoon. Do not eat the entire dish. That’s really not good for you. You should probably make sure there’s at least someone else around who’ll force you to share, and force you to leave leftovers for the next few days.