As far as I'm concerned, apple crisp is one of the basic food groups. Zach, our organic apple vendor, will suggest the best ones to use when the market reopens on Friday, December 3rd.

A mostly Mediterranean diet results in about 30% of daily calories from fat. That's 600 calories on a 2000 calorie diet or about 65 gm of fat at 9 calories per gm. This recipe has two sources of fat: the butter and the walnuts. Walnuts contain about 18 gm of fat per oz. One oz is about 14 walnut halves or a little more than 1/4 cup. There are only 1.6 gm of saturated fat per oz. Butter has 12 gm of fat (8 saturated) per Tbsp and a butter substitute like Earth Balance has 11 gm (but only 3.5 saturated). The recipe has about 35 gm of fat from walnuts and 60 gm from Earth Balance (22 gm saturated).

This all sounds tedious, but it represents the facts behind "moderation". Made in a 9" by 9" pan, it can provide nine 3" square portions. Thus a good sized piece of this essential food group has only about 10 gm of fat (2.5 gm saturated) well within reasonable nutritional guidelines for those watching fat intake.

2 lbs baking apples, peeled (or not), cored and sliced
7/8 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or a butter substitute like Earth Balance, chilled and cut into small pieces
Brandy (optional)

Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350° for about 6 minutes. Cool and chop into pieces no larger than 1/4", making them less likely to burn in the topping. Then preheat the oven to 375°. Slice the apples into a 9” by 9” unbuttered baking pan. Sprinkle with a little sugar or a little brandy and cinnamon. Mix the flour, sugars, cinnamon and butter until crumbly. Stir in the walnut pieces. Spread the topping evenly over the apples (I made this recently adding sliced Asian pears and raisins from the Lone Oak Ranch). Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until the topping browns and the fruit is tender and bubbly. Served warm, this is the best version of apple crisp I have ever had.

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