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1
To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the raisins and grappa and let stand until most of the grappa has been absorbed, about 1 hour.
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2
Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
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3
Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them into 1/3-inch (8-mm) slices.
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4
Add the apple and pear slices to the grappa-soaked raisins along with the granulated sugar and vanilla.
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5
Toss well, then pack the mixture firmly into a 2-quart (2-liter) baking dish.
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6
To make the topping, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the flour, nuts, brown sugar, polenta or cornmeal, and cinnamon a few times to combine.
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7
Add the butter pieces and pulse until the butter is finely broken up.
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8
Continue to pulse until the mixture just begins to clump together.
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9
Scatter the topping evenly over the fruit.
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10
Bake until the topping is nicely browned and the fruit is tender (a sharp paring knife inserted into the center meets no resistance), about 50 minutes.
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11
Serve the crisp warm with a pitcher of cold heavy cream or scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream (page 143).
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12
The polenta topping can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 2 months.
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13
If youre avoiding alcohol, you can skip macerating the raisins.
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14
You can substitute dried cranberries or diced prunes for the raisins.
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15
To make an APPLE-BLACKBERRY CRISP, in place of the grappa-soaked raisins, use 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces/170 g) blackberries; increase the apples to 8 medium (4 pounds/2 kg); omit the pears; and use 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
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16
While the crisp bakes, have a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven rack below the crisp to catch any overflow of juices.
