White Peach Crumble

When I buy fresh fruit, I almost always just eat it out of hand. I absolute love fruit desserts, but sometimes I just can't help but think that I'm missing out when I'm not eating them plain. After all, fresh, ripe fruit has a texture and flavor that is unmatched by cooked fruit. This is why I sometimes like to buy fruit in bulk. There is a time pressure to use it up quickly and more than enough for me to eat both raw and cooked.
Today, it was white peaches. In general, I am not a huge fan of peach flavor. I like it well enough, but I generally opt for nectarines instead of the furrier stone fruits. When I do get peaches, I prefer the slightly sweeter and less acidic taste of white peaches (and white nectarines) to the yellow ones, but the yellow ones have a stronger flavor when they've been baked.
This crumble is a simple dish of peaches with a crisp topping sprinkled over them. The flavor in the crisp is subtle and enhances the peach flavor wonderfully. It's a light, gorgeous summer dessert and one that will have you reaching for seconds, so even though the recipe really does serve 6, you might want to make it when you only have to serve three or four and prepare a light dinner to go with it.
It also makes a tasty breakfast - without ice cream, of course.
I'll warn you that some juice will come out of the peaches as they bake, so there could be some liquid at the bottom of your pan when you're serving. It's nothing to worry about and tastes delicious - it just is an indicator of how wonderfully ripe your peaches were.

Peach Crumble

5 large, ripe peaches (white or yellow)

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

6 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

3 1/2 tbsp (50g) butter, cold

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer on the stovetop. Set a bow of cool water next to it. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each peach and submerge in simmering water for about 30 seconds. Dunk in cold water, then peel off skin. Repeat with all peaches. Slice peeled peaches into about 10-12 pieces each.
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Cut butter into 6 or 8 pieces and rub in to flour mixture to create coarse crumbs.
Place peach slices in a pie dish and distribute crumble topping over the top.
Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, until the crumble browns at the edges and the peaches are tender. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes before serving.
Serve with vanilla ice cream or plain.
Serves 6.