Culinary Women

Aliya LeeKong’s Heavenly Holiday Dessert: Apple, Persimmon & Pomegranate Crumble

By Renae | December 22, 2015

Still working on your holiday menu? Chef and author Aliya LeeKong invited me to her fabulous, Brooklyn home to walk through her apple, persimmon & pomegranate crumble recipe, so of course I’m sharing it with you! With easy-to-follow instructions, this heavenly holiday treat will have family and friends singing your praises (and putting in requests) for years to come. What’s more, the recipe is jam-packed with beautifying ingredients such as:

– Almonds = Vitamin E, Zinc (great as anti-inflammatory + antioxidant) + Biotin
– Apples = Vitamin C + antioxidants
– Pomegranates = antioxidants to protect from free radical damage
– Ancient grain oats = chia and flax, which are high in Omega 3s, which help with hydration etc., and are anti-inflammatory
– Coconut sugar (vs white sugar) = zinc, trace minerals, polyphenols + antioxidants and is lower on the glycemic index for your waistline

Apple, Persimmon & Pomegranate Crumble with Ancient Grain Oatmeal + Coconut Sugar

* Serves 6 – 8 / Yields (1) 9 1/2-inch pie dish

Ingredients

For the filling:

3 Gala apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 Fuyu persimmon, peeled and thinly sliced

1/3 cup pomegranate arils

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons (good quality) sherry vinegar

2 ½ tablespoons coconut sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup sliced almonds

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For the crumb topping:

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup ancient grain oatmeal (rolled oats work great here too)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup coconut sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (plus a bit more for greasing)

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

In a medium bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients. Let marinate 10-15 minutes while preparing the topping.

In a food processor, add the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until uniformly mixed. Scatter the cold cubes of butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Don’t let it run for too long because the butter will warm up and start to clump.

Grease a 9 ½-inch pie dish with a bit of butter and place on a baking sheet (to catch any juicy overflow). Add the apple mixture. Top with the crumb topping and bake for 55 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble topping has browned up.