Miso brings a lovely rich, salty vibe to this apple crumble; it’s subtle though, so if you’re thinking ‘uh-oh, this sounds weird’, don’t fret. It actually works fabulously and we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how good this spin on a Kiwi classic tastes. Use white miso, as it’s the mildest of the whole bunch; anything stronger and saltier (such as brown or red) will take over. 

Try and find the best cooking apples you can; if they’re a bit bitey (as in sour), you may need to cook them with a little extra sugar but your reward will be heaps more taste than we got out of the Granny Smiths we used. They were meh TBH and that was our bad for not taking more care with our supply. If you live near a good farmer’s market and can taste before you buy, that’s the ideal scenario. It goes without saying to not use imported apples which will have been in storage for longer than most of us have been alive, not to mention the carbon footprint of the things.

SERVES 6

30g butter

75g (⅓ cup, firmly packed) brown sugar

2½ tbsp white miso

2 tbsp lemon juice

8 granny smith or braeburn apples (about 1.4kg), peeled, cored and chopped

vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or custard, to serve

Oat Crumble

125g plain flour

75g (¾ cup) quick-cooking rolled oats

125g (⅔ cup, lightly packed) brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g butter, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Melt the butter in a large, deep frying pan with an oven-proof handle over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, then cook for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is bubbly. Whisk in the miso and lemon juice, add the apple, then bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat and cover the pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the apples have softened, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if the mixture looks like it’s going to catch on the base. Remove the pan from the heat.

Meanwhile, for the crumble, stir together the flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the butter, then use your fingertips to rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Scatter the mixture over the apple mixture in the pan, then bake for 35-40 minutes until the crumble is golden and the apple mixture is bubbly. Serve hot or warm with ice cream, cream, or custard.