Summertime garden harvest for dessert
Rhubarb is absolutely simple to grow, and cooking with it is every bit as easy.
In the spring of 2013, we planted rhubarb in the garden for the first time, and by mid-June of 2015, we had waited for the rhubarb to take root, and had our first harvest. That very evening we first picked it, I tried a custom variation of a recipe I had found in the newspaper. Wow! Even Bob, who claimed to be a rhubarb-skeptic, devoured it and went back for seconds.
This recipe is both flexible, and also quick and easy to make. It’s a wonderful summer and fall recipe when rhubarb grows in the back yard. It’s not easy to find rhubarb in the supermarket, which means the farmers’ markets or the home garden.
The tartness of the rhubarb is moderated by the oat topping, and goes even better if you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream when serving.
Ingredients and Preparation
- Start about an hour before serving;
- Serves two baking dishes of rhubarb crisp. The recipe can be easily scaled. There is wide scope to customize it by switching apples or raspberries for strawberries, and flavour the crisp to your own taste.
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Rhubarb (diced into ½ inch cubes) | 450 grams (about 4 cups) |
| Strawberries (sliced into ½ inch pieces) | 225 grams (about 2 cups) |
| Granulated sugar (can substitute brown sugar) | 180 mL (¾ cup) |
| All-purpose unbleached flour | 65 mL (¼ cup) |
| Ground cinnamon | 10 mL (about ½ tsp) |
| For the topping: | |
| All-purpose unbleached flour | 250 mL (about 1 cup) |
| Packed brown sugar | 180 mL (¾ cup) |
| Rolled oats | 180 mL (¾ cup) |
| Butter (melted) | 125 mL (½ cup) |
Preparation
- In a large bowl, toss the diced rhubarb, sugar, flour and cinnamon;
- Transfer the rhubarb mixture to lightly greased 8-inch square baking pan;
- To make the topping, toss together flour, sugar and oats. Drizzle in butter. Mix well with fork;
- Drizzle a bit of peach schnapps and some almond extract (or whatever else strikes your fancy) over the topping;
- Spread the topping over the rhubarb mixture in the baking dish;
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 375°F for 30 minutes, and allow to cool;
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
I had to mind the cats and go to the Legislature during that cruise. I am looking forward to enjoying…