The great cobbler canvas

Ingredients

For the filling

• 5 peaches (use apples, plums, pears, apricots, or berries as a variation)
• 2tbsp lime juice, or lemon (optional)

For the cobbler

• 100g flour
• 2tbsp almond or hazelnut powder
• 80g unrefined sugar
• 80g cubed cold butter
• 2 pinches of salt
• 100g milk of choice
• 1 tbsp of optional flavorings : tonka, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, dried herbs… I used cardamom and ginger.

Story

As a professional cook and all-around food fanatic, I tend to read, watch, and listen to anything food-related that comes my way. The tendency to build stories around recipes has become ubiquitous in the past few years: here is a recipe that will bring back memories of a beloved grandmother, there you can smell a trip to some exotic country, or here, swallow whole the flavor of the place you grew up in. While I love the way food and stories can come together, intertwine, to create something not only delicious but also emotional, comforting, or simply joyful, I wish the love of cooking ran deep in my family and a tiny Lucie ran around a kitchen full of traditions and love. Here is my confession: more often than not, we ate frozen vegetables, packaged chicken wings, and tinned raviolis. To this day, my mother still asks me every now and then how to make a pie crust. And forgets. Every. Time.

There were, however, just a handful of recipes she made repeatedly throughout the years whenever an occasion presented itself: a damn good tiramisu for every birthday, a creamy mustard sauce that fits salmon just as well as cucumber, and fruit crumble whenever she wanted the kids (hello!) to eat up those fruits. So here is my version of this very simple and highly adaptable dessert, fire-licked. As usual, think of it as a canvas more than a recipe: use plums or apples if peaches are not in season, switch up the flours and flavors, or even turn it savory by using vegetables and replacing the sugar with grated cheese. Have fun. And even if each spoonful does not remind you of a childhood in the South of France and your mother peeling fruit for hours, well, it can still be just a really great dessert.

Preparation