Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

It may not be as American as apple pie but this strawberry rhubarb crisp is a great summer dessert !!

Rhubarb is an odd ingredient for a sweet dish being the stalk of a vegetable plant.

Someone figured out that it pairs beautifully with strawberries.

Genna recommended a recipe by Ina Garten, (the Barefoot Contessa) which I took and made mine as usual.

Ingredients
Filling:
3 cups rhubarb
3 cups strawberries
zest of one orange
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water *
2 tsp. cornstarch

Topping:
3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter diced

To make this vegan use Earth Balance in place of the butter. To make it gluten free use brown rice flour and gluten free rolled oats ( Bob's Red Mill makes them).

1) Preheat oven to 350 F , place a glass baking dish,( 8 by 8 inch) on a cookie sheet.

2) Chop the rhubarb into inch long chunks and stem and cut the strawberries into halves or quarters.

3) Toss the fruit in a large bowl with 1/2 cup sugar and the orange zest.

4) Dissolve the 2  teaspoons of cornstarch in 1/3 cup water. * The photo below shows me whisking the cornstarch into orange juice which is what the original recipe calls for. I found the orange flavor overwhelming. Genna made it with water and pronounced it great ;-)

5) Mix the cornstarch liquid into the fruit and pour into the glass baking dish.

6) For the topping, place the flour, oats and brown sugar into a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. Mix together.

7) With the mixer on a low speed, slowly add the cold butter in pieces until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture crumbles.

8) Sprinkle the crumble over the fruit to cover it as completely as possible.

9) Bake at 350 F for one hour.

10) Serve it warm for dessert with ice cream, whipped cream or creme fraiche. Or have it for breakfast with plain yogurt !! Yum !!