Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp


Boy Mimi loves rhubarb pie. When his auntie had a pie shop, that was always his request and she never let him down. Sadly, the pie shop is no longer around, but his rhubarb requests have not ceased. To make up for the lack of a family pie shop, I've been trying to grow rhubarb for a few years, but it always succumbs to the summer heat. This year I added a heavy mulch to keep the soil cool, and so far this seems to be doing the trick. The rhubarb is healthy and producing nice big stalks. Since I know my pies will never measure up to my sister's in Boy Mimi's eyes, I made a strawberry rhubarb crisp instead with our first harvest.

This crisp hit all the right strawberry rhubarb notes- sweet and juicy from the berries, with a nice burst of tart from the rhubarb. The crumb topping added the perfect amount of crunch to the soft baked fruit. Despite all my years of failed rhubarb crops, this crisp made all the work worth it. We will definitely be making it again before our rhubarb is gone this summer, and are looking forward to an even bigger harvest next year.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

1/2 lb rhubarb
1/2 lb strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter 
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the rhubarb into 3/4 inch-thick slices and place in an 8x8 pan. Hull the strawberries and cut in half (or quarters if very large) and add to rhubarb. Toss with 1/2 cup sugar (more or less depending on the sweetness of your strawberries) and 2 tablespoons of flour.
2. In a food processor, pulse the remaing 1/4 cup flour with butter until you have pea sized pieces. Add the remaining 1/4 sugar, rolled oats, salt, and cinnamon, pulse to combine. Sprinkle over the strawberry rhubarb mixture.
3. Bake until rhubarb is tender and the topping is golden, 25-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream. 


link:Foodie Friday