Grain-free, Sugar-Free Mulberry Grunt

Mulberry Grunt

Based loosely on this recipe by Alton Brown, blackberry grunt is a great use for mulberries or any other seasonal fruit.  I like it because it cooks down the stems of the mulberries so that they are not noticeable in the final product.  I add the black raspberries midway through cooking to keep the fragile berries intact and they taste fresher. (Alton Brown's recipe is delicious as well.  I have made it several times with lemon instead of ginger.)

Ingredients

• Fruit bottom:
• 2 T. butter 
• 4 cups mulberries
• 2 cups black raspberries (or 6 total cups other fruit of choice)
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 c. honey
• lemon zest, finely zested from a half of a lemon
• 2 T. potato starch, dissolved in 2 T. cold water 
• 
  
• Dough:
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 t. baking soda
• 1 t. sea salt
• 4 T. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
• About 1/2 c. coconut milk (or regular milk, buttermilk, other liquid of choice)
• 2 T. honey
• Juice from half a lemon

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a piece of foil on the bottom rack of the oven to catch any drippings or use a cookie sheet.

2.  Melt butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place over medium heat. Add mulberries, water, and honey. Bring this to a simmer, decrease the heat to medium low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.  (While the berries are cooking, make the dough, below in Step 3.) Add the potato starch and water mixture and cook until thickened.   Gently fold in the remaining 2 cups of blackberries.

3. Place the flour, salt, and baking soda into the bowl of a food processor and process for 3 to 4 pulses. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly.  Mix honey, milk, and lemon juice in small bowl and pour into the food processor.  Mixture should be thick and gloppy, like dumpling batter. Gently drop the batter on the fruit mixture using a 1-ounce disher or large spoon, evenly distributing it over the top.

4.  Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top is just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow the grunt to cool for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.  

We had it with homemade strawberry ice cream and it was awesome!

Iris gives her stamp of approval (and clowns for the camera!)