Apple and Bilberry Crumble

This week, I'm in Sweden visiting my parents and have had an unbelievable luck with the weather, it's been a super Autumn, t-shirt and shorts weather to some extent even. And so, my Mum and I have been out in the woods foraging for berries and mushrooms.



There are loads of chanterelles at the shops and markets at the moment, but the ones in the photo are a relative called "trattkantarell" in Swedish or "trattis" as my Mum shortens it to and translates directly to funnel chanterelle. However it doesn't seem to have a common name in English. Wikipedia says this. The trattis I think has a nicer taste than the regular chanterelle. We picked a few handfuls, fried in a saucepan until the liquid had been released, then added a knob of butter and fried a bit more. Very yummy with oven baked salmon.

The berries we picked are lingonberries.



They are just ripening now and there were loads of large, dark red ones. They are good for jams or sauces for game and Swedish meatballs. We tried some with the salmon, but that didn't work too well.

We also picked some bilberries, they were also large and juicy. One of the apple trees in my parents' garden keeps dropping lots of wonderful aromatic and sweet apples now, so my Mum suggested I make a crumble. And so I did.

Ingredients

1 dl plain flour
2 dl porridge oats
0.5 dl caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp semolina
100 g unsalted butter
3 - 4 apples
250 g bilberries
2 tsp cornflour
0.5 dl caster sugar
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Method

1. Place flour, oats, caster sugar, cinnamon and semolina in a bowl and mix well.


2. Cut up the butter into small dice and add to the dry mixture, then work it in with your fingers until it is incorporated and crumbs form.


3. Wash, peel and core the apples, then slice thinly. Butter a pie dish, about 25 cm diameter and line with the apple slices.


4. Sprinkle the bilberries making sure the fruit is evenly distributed, then sprinkle caste sugar and corn flour.


5. Again using your fingers spread the crumbles evenly over the fruit, it might not cover everything completely, but that's OK.


6. Pre-heat the oven to 225 degrees C (gas mark 7), then bake the crumble for 25 minutes. The bilberries will release their juice and colour the apples purple.


7. Serve hot with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

I wasn't the first one to get to the pie when it was ready. Mum had a bite before I managed to get a photo.

I think it'll be nice with chopped nuts, perhaps hazel or pecan. I was thinking of adding corn flakes for extra crunchiness, but Mum didn't have any. Still it as quite tasty.