Gluten-free,  Nutritional information,  Sweet

Apple and raspberry crumble (gf) and patron saints

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I am writing this in my new-found capacity as Patron Saint of Naughty Horses. Every time horses stray in our village, it is assumed, quite mistakenly of course, that they’re ours. I got a call from the Mairie early the other morning informing me that there were two horses loose in the village, and could I please go and sort them out. Looking out of the window to do a quick head count I said, not altogether un-smugly, that mine were all present and correct and that I wasn’t the only person in the village to have wilful horses. We then went through the list of horse-owning potential suspects, all of whose phone numbers I had, which presumably made me guilty by association. She then very kindly kept me updated after every conversation, which was nice as I had nothing else planned for the morning beyond fielding calls about delinquent quadrupeds.
My smugness was short-lived because the following Sunday brought a visit from the ‘gendarmes’; our most recent purchase had been found dazed and confused in town and, in view of the fact that he was roaming the pavements and cruising the shops and bars, they muttered something about vagabondage charges. At the suggestion of my imaginative husband however, we ended up agreeing that, just this once, they would squint and pretend he was a particularly large and docile deer (Bijou our horse; not my imaginative husband).
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This crumble is made using millet flour, which is a delicious, slightly nutty-tasting gluten-free alternative. It is one of the least allergenic of all flours and very easily digestible due to its high alkalinity. It is an excellent source of iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc and B vitamins.
Ingredients (serves 8)
For the filling:
2kg of apples, peeled, cored sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of honey
Several handfuls of raspberries, fresh or frozen
For the topping:
125g millet flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
50g coconut oil
50g butter, cut into cubes
50g oats
50g almond flakes
100g cane sugar (or rapadura sugar)
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Gently poach the apples in a little water, adding the cinnamon and honey. Add the raspberries once the apples have softened and mix. Transfer to a ovenproof baking dish. For the crumble, put the flour, salt, ginger, coconut oil and butter into a mixing bowl and rub in using your fingertips. You should obtain a sandlike mixture. Add the oats, almond flakes and sugar and mix well. Cover the fruit with the crumble mixture and bake for 40 minutes or until the topping begins to turn golden brown. Serve warm with ice cream or Greek yoghurt.
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5 Comments

  • apuginthekitchen

    Have to laugh that they automatically assume it’s your horse or horses roaming about the streets. You are the Queen of willful animals. I have never tried millet flour, I don’t know if I have ever even eaten millet. I must try, I absolutely love spelt I know it’s not GF but it tastes so much better than whole wheat in my opinion. Lovely crumble. Hugs to Hugo and Java from Percy and I.

    • The Healthy Epicurean

      I am the Queen of wilful animals aren’t I? It’s unbelievable sometimes! You should try millet if you get the chance; in my opinion it’s the next best thing to spelt, which is my absolutely favourite, but which unfortunately I can’t eat anymore due to the gluten. Hugo and Java send hugs to you and Percy. Is Percy OK? I saw he’d been unwell. Hope all’s OK now…

  • ourfrenchoasis

    It’s amazing what the gendarmes will agree to, proving that the French really do have a great sense of humour! I have never tried Millet flour either, is it at all like spelt? Susan x

    • The Healthy Epicurean

      It’s a little bit similar, but obviously gluten free so not great for cakes or anything that needs to rise. Perfect for crumble topping though… Are you having the same boiling weather as us? (at last!) F

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