Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb pie is one of those perfect dishes that just screams summer. June rolls around, the strawberries start showing up at the farm stand, and it is time to eat as many as I can get my hands on. Winter strawberries usually taste watery and sad, but these wonderful jewels of summer taste amazingly sweet and bright in June. Rhubarb adds just the right amount of sour to make the perfect sweet and tangy dessert combination. We eat a lot more crisp than we do pie right now; Ben doesn’t love pie crust, and crisp is so much less fuss. This recipe comes together quickly enough for a weeknight, and is still delicious the next day. It also makes a delicious breakfast… I’ve been eating it for breakfast for weeks already. Without further ado please see my tribute to this iconic duo below.

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 lbs Strawberries

1.5 lbs Rhubarb (about 8 stalks)

4 tbsp tapioca starch (generous)

1/3 cup sugar

Topping:

2 cups oats

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup salted butter

zest of one orange

1/4 tsp clove

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Get out a baking dish - this recipe makes enough for one 9x12 inch casserole dish, or two 8 inch pie dishes. I used 9 inch pie dishes here because that is what I have - they aren’t quite as deep, but still delicious.

Wash and chop the strawberries and rhubarb into half inch thick pieces.

Toss the fruit with the sugar and tapioca starch.

Cream together the butter, orange zest, clove, and sugar until light and fluffy. Rub in the flour and oats until you get a chunky texture. It should be kind of like a cookie dough in texture. Crumble the topping onto the filling, dropping it all over in uneven chunks until it is fairly evenly covered

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the filling bubbles up around the topping and the topping turns golden brown. Let it cool a little before eating it so you don’t burn your mouth (and so the juices can set). This is quite delicious all on its own but you could definitely serve with vanilla ice cream or unsweetened whipped cream for an extra special treat.