Serves 8

Ingredients fir the crumble

• 1½ C    Instant oats (see Tip)
• ¾ C      Sugar
• ½ C      Chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 t        Chai spice or ground cinnamon (see Tip)
• 1t         Salt
• ½ C      Unsalted butter, at room temperature

Ingredients for the filling

• ½cup   Sugar
• 2 T       Cornstarch or flour (see Tip)
• 1T        Lemon juice

Directions

• Mix the oats, sugar, nuts, chai spice and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into cubes the size of dice and toss in. Use your fingers to smush the butter into the dry ingredients until no yellow bits remain and the blend forms clumps. Refrigerate uncovered while you prepare the fruit (or covered for up to 3 days).
• Prepare the fruit: If you’re using big fruit, scrub it well, then cut into ½-inch pieces, about the same size as small blackberries or big blueberries. Throw out any pits, seeds or stems.
• In a large bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch. Add all the fruit, then the lemon juice and stir until well mixed. Scrape the fruit and any juices into a 9- or 10-inch ovenproof skillet and spread evenly.
• Scatter the chilled crumble mixture evenly over the fruit, breaking any large clumps into smaller pebbles. Place the skillet on a sheet pan to catch any dripping fruit juices.
• Bake until the fruit is bubbling, the liquid has thickened and the top is nicely browned, about 45 minutes. If the crumble darkens too much before the fruit mixture is thick, place a sheet of foil loosely on top. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tips – If you want to make this gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free oats and cornstarch. You can also use a spice blend, such as apple pie spice or pumpkin spice, or a savory blend, like baharat.