Nigella's summer crumble

How has your summer been? Has everyone around you been complaining of the weather? Summer' s so much more than just sun and heat though... fruit, farniente, ice-cream, apéros and walks...reading long books, so many little pleasures.

Tossa de Mar

And lest we forget to turn the oven on, to warm us up... Nigella's summer crumble (from Forever Summer) is a fantastic way to use up those less-than satisfying apricots that everyone leaves in the fruit bowl, the ones a little less red, the mushy ones, and transform them into deep orange compote under the layer of almondy crumble. Or any other stone fruit for that matter.

Parc Guell, Barcelona

Summer crumble, adapted from Nigella Lawson in Forever Summer

750g apricots, stoned and quartered

75g butter

100g self-raising flour or flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

25g ground almonds

75g caster sugar

50g flaked or chopped almonds

Preheat the oven at 200C. Butter a gratin dish. Layer the fruit into the dish. Rub the butter into the flour and grounds almonds until the mix resembles rough sand, then stir in the sugar and the flaked almonds. Sprinkle this over the fruit and bake for about 30 mins until the fruit bubbles up and the crust is golden. Serve warm or cold with yogurt, cream or vanilla ice-cream.

Girona

As you can see from my photos, I went to Catalunya where I stuffed myself with paella, sangria and saturated my eyes with gorgeous sceneries in between storms.

Girona

Girona