This spring I finally became the proud steward of a small plot in our local community garden. The couple I inherited the plot from left me two rhubarb plants and a whole parcel of strawberry plants. I was so excited that first day of orientation.
In Seattle, the rhubarb and the strawberries can be a little out of sync, so these strawberries are from the market. I was too excited to wait for mine to be ripe.
One of the reasons I love making crisp is that it is so quick and easy. Make extra crisp topping and keep it in the refrigerator. Then, whenever you have some fruit that needs to get used up just toss it with some sweetener and a thickener, spread on some topping and throw in the oven. 30 minutes to delicious.
Melanie Waxman sweetens her crisp in Eat Me Now with apple juice thickened with kuzu. It works really well and I have used this technique in my crisp here. It serves two purposes, kuzu is a much healthier thickener for the cooked fruit and the juice contributes sweetness.
This crisp has a mildly sweet flavor from the brown rice syrup. The tartness of the rhubarb still comes through and the strawberries are a perfect match. Just make sure your strawberries are very ripe.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Filling
2 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
4 cups fresh and ripe sliced strawberries
3/4 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp kuzu
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp brown rice syrup
Crisp
2 cups thick oatmeal flakes (gluten-free if desired)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
6 Tbsp brown rice syrup
2 Tbsp oil
1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Prepare your fruit and place into a 9″ square dish.
3. In a small pot combine the juice, sea salt and kuzu. Slowly bring to a boil, whisking continuously so the kuzu doesn’t clump. As soon as the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from heat. Stir in the brown rice syrup. Pour over the fruit and stir to combine. Set aside
4. In a medium bowl, mix the dry crisp ingredients together. Add the wet and mix thoroughly.
5. Spread evenly over the fruit.
6. Bake in oven until the filling starts bubbling and topping has started turning light brown in places. This takes 25-30 minutes.
