Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

Abby is her father’s daughter when it comes to expressing her enthusiasm about food. I made this crisp for her and my niece, Amanda on Saturday night and the groaning and ohmygod-ing coming from the two was hilarious. Quote of the night: “This is what tasting good should taste like.” I realize that the magic of the strawberry-rhubarb combo is not breaking news, but I feel a contractual duty as a food writer to remind you of it this time of year, when you can find the ruby red stalks at the farmer’s market by the bushel. More reviews from the girls: “The acid and the sweetness and the crunch and the darker toasty buttery topping with the brightness of the fruit…. How good would this filling be on top of pancakes or waffles tomorrow morning?” Unfortunately, there were zero leftovers, so I guess we’ll just have to make another one this weekend and find out.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
As usual, I started with my mother-in-law’s tried-and-true cobbler-crisp for the basic formula, then added a little orange zest to the filling — I stole that idea from Ina Garten. For a gluten-free, dairy-free version, replace the 1 cup flour with 1/2 cup gluten-free oats and 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour, and replace 5 tablespoons butter with 3 tablespoons Miyako’s Vegan Butter and 2 tablespoons coconut oil.

Filling
4 cups fresh rhubarb, diced (4-5 stalks)
4 cups fresh strawberries, de-stemmed, halved
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch kosher salt

Topping
1 cup flour, whisked
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
5 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, toss together all filling ingredients. Let sit 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the fruit into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. 

In a medium mixing bowl, add the egg and whisk with a fork. Using the fork, toss in the the topping ingredients and mix until everything is crumbly. (It should not be dry or mushy.) Sprinkle flour-egg mixture all over fruit — it will feel like a lot, but get it all in there — then drizzle the whole thing as evenly as possible with melted butter.

Bake at 350°F for 1 hour. Let it cool slightly so it sets. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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