Three in a row

I guess I'm having a pistachio kick of some kind. After the Pistachio Ice Cream and Arugula and Pistachio pesto, it came back today, hidden in a crunchy golden crumble. What a combo that was.
Chocolate and pears - well known, always working combo.
Add some pistachios - those green nuts seem to fit just perfectly.
And what about some spice to complete everything and let all senses enjoy - of course, a pinch of cardamom.
My favourite crumble topping is made without flour, oatmeal only, and that makes for a crunchy and just slightly chewy topping that I love.

Last of our guests went away today, and I'm starting to relax a bit. Actually I'm starting feeling a bit tired to say the truth. This crumble was just what I needed after a simple lunch, a real flavourful kick before heading on to things to do.

Pear and Chocolate crumble

* 1 pear (Abate Fetel)
* 30 g quick cooking oats
* 20 g butter - softened
* 40 g dark chocolate - finely chopped
* 25 g powdered sugar
* 20 g pistachios
* 1 green cardamom pod

Put the oats, the powdered sugar, the chopped pistachios, the chopped chocolate and the finely ground cardamom seeds (crash the pod with a pestle and remove the green outside shell, crush finely the small black seeds you'll find inside) in a small mixing bowl. Add the butter and work all the ingredients with the tips of your fingers to form coarse crumbs.
Put the mixture in the fridge until use.
Peel and chop or slice the pear.
Place the chopped pear into buttered individual ramekins or one (two-serving) shallow dish.
Sprinkle the crumbly oats mixture on top and bake the crumble in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 25-30 minutes or until crunchy and golden on top.
Serve the crumble warm, simple or with a scoop of ice cream.

Crumble di pere e cioccolato


* 1 pera Abate
* 30 g di fiocchi di avena, piccoli
* 20 g di burro - morbido
* 40 g di cioccolato fondente - tritato
* 25 g di zucchero a velo
* 20 g di pistacchi
* 1 bacca di cardamomo verde


Mescolate in una ciotola i fiocchi d'avena, lo zucchero a velo, i pistacchi tritati grossolanamente, il cioccolato trittato e il cardamomo pestato (schiacciate la bacca con il pestello e togliete la buccia verde, pestate i semini scuri contenuti al interno fino a ridurli in polvere).
Aggiungete il burro e lavorate il tutto con le punte delle dita per ottenere delle briciole piuttosto grossolane.
Ponete questo composto in frigo fino al momento di usarlo.
Sbuciate la pera e tagliatela a pezzi o fettine.
Distribuite i pezzi di pera nelle coccotine (o una pirofila più grande).
Cospargete il composto di briciole sopra e fate cuocere il crumble nel forno già caldo a 180°C per circa 25-30 minuti, o finché dorato in superficie.
Servitelo caldo o tiepido, magari accompagandolo con del gelato.

Crumble od krušaka s čokoladom


* 1 kruška (Abate)
* 30 g sitnih zobenih pahuljica
* 20 g maslaca - omekšalog
* 40 g tamne čokolade
* 25 g šećera u prahu
* 20 g očišćenih pistacija
* 1 zelena sjemenka kardamoma


Pomiješajte u zdjeli zobene pahuljice, šećer u prahu, sitno nasjeckane pistacije, sitno nasjeckanu čokoladu. Dodajte smrvljene sjemenke kardamoma (samo unutarnje tamne sjemenke, zelenu opnu odvojite i bacite) i maslac.
Izmiješajte sve prstima da dobijete krupnije mrvice.
Ostavite ih u hladnjaku do pripreme.
Krušku očistite i narežite na krupnije kocke ili na kriške.
Rasporedite komadiće kruške u maslacem namazane ramekine (dva pojedinačna, ili jedan malo veći).
Preko krušaka rasporedite mrvičastu smjesu i stavite peći u pećnicu zagrijanu na 180°C, 25-30 minuta, odnosno dok mrvičasti dio lijepo ne porumeni.
Poslužite crumble topao ili mlačan, sam ili uz sladoled.