Summer— l’estate — is in full swing here in Rome, meaning refreshing, post-work spritzes with friends, weekends at the beach, and the beginning of gelato season. If you’ve been following the blog for a while now, you’ll know that this is my very favorite time of year, one where my freckles make their annual appearance, my sundress collection gets put to good use, and I take time off work (much needed this year).

Just next to my apartment building is L’orticello di Antonella, or rather a little store brimming with top notch fruit and produce, plus the freshest of eggs (perfect for pasta making). I’ve become fast friends with the owner – the Antonella in question – who keeps me stocked with fennel and citrus in the winter, artichokes and peas in the Spring, and pumpkin and apples in the Fall. And in the Summer? L’orticello is chock-full of tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, and watermelon, to name just a few of the many gems on display. A quick run downstairs to grab an onion or lemon – a last minute ingredient for a recipe – usually ends with me leaving with a large paper bag of fruit or veg to cook or bake with (think kid in the candy store, where blogger takes the place of kid and cherry tomatoes take the place of candy). L’orticello is pure inspiration for a foodie like myself, and is just one of the many reasons I love living in Italy so much (why bother with the supermarket when you have a shop like this?)

Today’s recipe was born out of recent a last minute trip to Antonella’s, one where I stopped quickly to buy a bunch of basil for pesto and came home with a large basket of apricots (albicocche, or ahl-bee-co-kay in Italian) which beckoned to me from the display table. When it comes to summer, apricots are sort of an unsung hero – peaches getting most of the stone fruit glory – but albicocche deserve a little love in their own right, I think. They’re bright sunset orange, juicy, and refreshing; they lean more towards tart than sweet, making them ideal in a pie, crisp, or cobbler, where they deftly balance out and cut through the sugar, butter, and eventual requisite scoop of vanilla ice cream. What’s not to love?

This Apricot, Cherry, Pistachio crisp is the edgier, more dynamic cousin of the classic peach cobbler that takes center stage this time of year in the U.S. Tangy apricots and candy-like cherries (also from L’orticello, naturally) team up in the oven to become jammy, juicy, and meltingly soft. They’re enhanced, but not overwhelmed by a touch of brown sugar and vanilla, and dressed up with a moreish, buttery topping studded with emerald pistachios (which take the place of the usual walnuts or pecans). This is an improvised, wing-it-kind of recipe that turned out better than I could have hoped (I love when that happens) and while its superb served warm for dessert, Antonella herself — one of my most valuable taste testers— informed me that this is also delicious eaten cold for breakfast.

A couple of notes: Note that this was a crisp very much born out of what I had on hand; feel free to use white sugar instead of brown sugar (I was out of white), and use walnuts, pecans, of even almonds in place of the pistachios if you prefer. You can also substitute another berry for the cherries, and peaches for the apricots. Cinnamon or ginger would also be a nice addition.

Looking for more fruit desserts (crisps, cobblers, crumbles?) Click here.
For more summer desserts, check out this round-up here.

APRICOT CHERRY PISTACHIO CRISP

Serves 6.

Ingredients for topping:
6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons (75 grams) brown sugar
1/2 cup (60 grams) pistachios, finely chopped
1/2 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the fruit:
1 lb (448 grams) apricots
1/2 cup (about 12) cherries, pitted and halved
6 tablespoons (75 grams) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (about 16 grams) flour

Vanilla ice cream or sweeted whipped cream, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x11 inch baking dish (mine was an oval one that measured 11 inches across and 9 inches wide). This would be about 23x28 cm baking dish.

Cut the apricots in half, remove the pit, and quarter them. Place them in a mixing bowl and add the cherries. Stir in the sugar, flour, and vanilla, and set aside.

For the topping, stir together the butter, sugar, flour, salt, and pistachios, mixing until large clumps form. Pour the fruit mixture in to the prepared baking and crumble the pistachio mixture over the fruit.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the crisp is golden brown. Let cool slightly, then serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream, or cold with yogurt for breakfast.