Chef Spencer Watts takes the very best of classic comfort food dishes and adds globally influenced flavours to make each dish new again. Chicken noodle soup becomes jerk rubbed duck noodle soup; mac and cheese becomes transformed with a rye crumble topping and chicken wings are dusted with dill pickle chips.

This new approach to comfort foods includes something for every kind of cook — some recipes are easy to follow, some more ambitious — all are delicious! Using readily available ingredients, Spencer Watts takes an imaginative approach to appetizers, bowls, main dishes, desserts and more! Recipes include Ham Hock and Pea Risotto, Wild Mushroom Soup, Caramel Popcorn Cake, Greek Style White Bean Ragu and more!

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Forkless
• Chapter Two: Fowl Language
• Chapter Three: Bowls
• Chapter Four: Carbaholic
• Chapter Five: Any Given Sunday
• Chapter Six: Sugar Coated

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Miso Caramel Apple & Pear Crumble

Miso, apples, and pears and it’s a dessert? Okay, I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, this dessert rocks. Apples and pears are an amazing duet, and paired with salty miso, butter, and sugar, the flavour will make you do a double take. With a classic crispy crumble topping scented with baking spices, this Miso Caramel Apple & Pear Crumble will have you wishing you’d made more.

“Miso and it’s a dessert. Wait … what?”

Garnish: ice cream or your favourite gelato

MISO CARAMEL APPLES & PEARS

1 cup (250 mL) Unsalted Butter

1 Tbsp (15 mL) White miso paste

½ cup (125 mL) White sugar

4–6 Large apples, unpeeled, cored, diced

4–6 Large ripe pears, unpeeled, cored, diced

CRUMBLE

¼ cup (60 mL) Brown sugar

2 Tbsp (30 mL) White sugar

½ cup (125 mL) Unsalted butter, cold, cubed

1 cup (250 mL) All-purpose flour

1 tsp (5 mL) Cinnamon

¼ tsp (1.25 mL) Nutmeg

Method

MISO CARAMEL APPLES & PEARS

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add white miso paste and white sugar, stirring until dissolved. Simmer until bubbling, then tip in diced apples and pears, stirring to coat. Cook over low heat, stirring intermittently, for 5 to 10 minutes or until the fruit is soft and coated in the caramel.

Transfer to a shallow 9×9-inch (23 cm) oven-safe dish. Set aside.

CRUMBLE

Add brown sugar and white sugar to a medium-size mixing bowl. Add butter, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and using your hands, rub the butter together with the dry ingredients to create a sand-like texture.

Loosely sprinkle the Crumble over the Miso Caramel Apples & Pears, without pressing down.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbling, crisp, and golden.

To Build

Serve Miso Caramel Apple & Pear Crumble with your favourite ice cream or gelato.

COOKING IQ

A great crumble is coarse in texture. Use cold cubed butter and don’t over mix. The heat from your hands can melt the butter, so you’ll want to work quickly.

Recipe published with permission from Whitecap Books.