Summertime strawberries and rhubarb are redolent of my youth. In particular, they bring back memories of my English grandparents who lived in the gorgeous countryside that is the Cotswolds. My grandpa had a wonderful rhubarb patch in his garden, and I used to love making crumble when I went to stay with them. And my dear granny would take us to strawberry fields to pick our own juicy fruit to serve simply with cream.

It wasn’t until I came to the U.S. that I heard of strawberries and rhubarb combined. But it is a great combo and I urge you to try it. The sweetness of the berries, perfectly balances the sourness of the rhubarb.

But first, a word about crumble. Stateside, crumble isn’t a commonplace dessert. Cobblers are more popular, but to my mind, not as delicious. I like a crunch to my pudding. Cobblers are more cake-like in their consistency, as the recipe often calls for the addition of milk or buttermilk. Crumble on the other hand, is more akin to non-bound pastry. You simply rub flour and butter together, add sugar, combine to your desired ‘clumpiness’ and pop in the oven atop your chosen fruit.

Ready for the oven

The permutations are endless: apple and cinnamon; peach and raspberry; blackberry and apple; apple and quince. You can create a fine crumble topping, resembling breadcrumbs, or my favorite, a more ‘chunky’ crunchy lid for your fruit. However you like it, this recipe will serve you well. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or creme fraiche. Delicious!

Rhubarb and Strawberry Crumble

By alice

June 12, 2016

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• Prep Time: 15m
• Cook Time: 35m
• Total Time: 50m

Ingredients

• 4 ounces butter (preferably organic), cut into cubes, fridge-cold
• 4 ounces flour (gluten-free if you wish)
• 2 ounces ground almonds
• 1 pinch salt
• 4 ounces sugar, preferably demerara, or 'in the raw'
• 8 ounces strawberries, washed, trimmed and cut in half
• 6 stalks of rhubarbs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 ounces sugar for sweetening fruit (or maple syrup to taste)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Put flour, ground almonds and salt in your food processor or food mixer bowl. If you don't have any ground almonds, or prefer to avoid them, use 6oz of flour instead.
3. Cut cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl with the flours.
4. Process until fine breadcrumbs form, then depending on the final consistency you're after, continue to process until marble-sized clumps form.
5. Add sugar and pulse a few times to roughly combine. Set aside.
6. Prepare fruit: chop rhubarb, wash and halve strawberries. Place in a deep ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the sugar or maple syrup.
7. If your topping is almost 'bound' - use a spoon to roughly cover the fruit. Or simply scatter over the top.
8. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes then check to ensure the top isn't burning (gluten-free flour has a tendency to brown quickly). At this stage, it will likely need another 5-10 minutes in the oven. Your crumble is ready when the fruit juices are bubbling up through the top or the rhubarb is soft when you pierce with a knife.