take out the trash fruit crisp

Shortly before I left New York, I was thrilled to discover that Bravo showed reruns of The West Wing almost every day. I bribed myself to pack and clean between 9 and 11 each day with those two hours of political skullduggery and smart, witty rapid-fire dialogue (and Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborne). The show is crammed with throwaway lines and funny little conceits, one of my favorite being "Take Out the Trash Day" from the first season. The White House deliberately releases several sensitive and potentially damaging stories on the same day, realizing that with a finite amount of column space each issue will receive less press. This concept, slightly transmuted and with a positive spin, is just as applicable in a summer produce-filled refrigerator, and the results are much tastier!

Now, I'm not suggesting you use any fruit that actually belongs in a trash can. But if you find yourself facing, as I did recently, half a case of cherries going slightly soft, a few nectarines whose better days have passed, and the remains of a pint of strawberries, do not despair. An oatmeal-topped crisp is the perfect solution when you don't have quite enough of anything to make a fruit-specific dish and the fruit in question is no longer pretty enough to be served raw or on its own.

Exact technique or recipe will vary depending on the fruit you use, but most fruit can be cleaned, sliced, tossed with a little bit of sugar, lemon juice and spices to taste, spread in a glass or metal baking dish and sprinkled with generous handfuls of an oatmeal/butter/brown sugar topping. I like to add a little kosher salt and cinnamon to round out the flavor; fresh nutmeg or ginger can also be delicious. Bake the crisp in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the fruit starts to juice and bubble and the topping becomes golden and crisp.

If you want to use a harder fruit like rhubarb, I recommend sauteeing or poaching it before placing it in the dish. Rhubarb is delicious cooked on the stovetop with butter, a scraped vanilla bean, sugar, and a little rose wine. Sliced strawberries can be added after the rhubarb is cooked and before placing the crisp in the oven for a deliciously seasonal take on early summer ingredients.

One of the best things about this fruit crisp is its versatility - it will be perfect with strawberries and rhubarb in June, raspberries and peaches in August, and apples and cinnamon through the fall and winter.