APPLE-PEAR CRISP WITH GRAPPA-SOAKED RAISINS AND POLENTA TOPPING

Apple-Pear Crisp with Grappa-Soaked Raisins and Polenta Topping image

I'm a big fan of fruit crisps. When I worked at Chez Panisse, I learned I wasn't alone-they were more popular than our signature dark chocolate cake. But I'm not entirely convinced that I'd choose a fruit crisp over chocolate cake. Maybe I'd order both in the name of research. This fruit crisp topping, made with crunchy polenta, stands up well to the juiciest mélange of fruits. Here, I mix apples and pears, and it may seem like a lot of fruit when you're doing all that peeling and slicing, but it cooks down considerably during baking. Use a good baking apple, such as Gravenstein, Winesap, Pippin, Northern Spy, or Cortland.

Yield makes 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

3/4 cup (120 g) raisins
3 tablespoons (45 ml) grappa
4 medium apples (about 2 pounds/1 kg)
6 medium ripe pears (about 2 pounds/1 kg)
1/3 cup (65 g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup (110 g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts, almonds, or pecans, toasted
1/2 cup (120 g) packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup (100 g) polenta or stone-ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (4 ounces/115 g) unsalted or salted butter, cut into pieces and chilled

Steps:

To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the raisins and grappa and let stand until most of the grappa has been absorbed, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them into 1/3-inch (8-mm) slices. Add the apple and pear slices to the grappa-soaked raisins along with the granulated sugar and vanilla. Toss well, then pack the mixture firmly into a 2-quart (2-liter) baking dish.
To make the topping, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, nuts, brown sugar, polenta or cornmeal, and cinnamon a few times to combine. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is finely broken up. Continue to pulse until the mixture just begins to clump together.
Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit. Bake until the topping is nicely browned and the fruit is tender (a sharp paring knife inserted into the center meets no resistance), about 50 minutes.
Serve the crisp warm with a pitcher of cold heavy cream or scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream (page 143).
The polenta topping can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.
If you're avoiding alcohol, you can skip macerating the raisins. You can substitute dried cranberries or diced prunes for the raisins.
To make an APPLE-BLACKBERRY CRISP, in place of the grappa-soaked raisins, use 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces/170 g) blackberries; increase the apples to 8 medium (4 pounds/2 kg); omit the pears; and use 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
While the crisp bakes, have a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack below the crisp to catch any overflow of juices.