The bright, tart taste of rhubarb and the iconic, sweet taste of strawberries is a classic spring and summer combination. This strawberry rhubarb crisp gets some subtle variety with a splash of lime juice in the filling and chopped pistachios in the topping–a recipe that is high on flavor and relatively low on sugar.
You may be thinking, do we really need another recipe for strawberry rhubarb crisp? Well, if you like making fruit crisps like I do, then the answer is yes! I make crisps all summer long, and I rarely make them the same way twice. There are endless variations on the basic theme, and the variations are what make fruit crisps fun and personalized. You can tailor them to your own tastes, and they always taste best when they feature fresh, in-season fruit. As much as I love rhubarb pies (I have made two already this month, thanks to a nice big armful of rhubarb from my aunt), crisps are easier and quicker to make.
This most recent version of strawberry rhubarb crisp is similar to one I posted about a year ago, but with the twist of added lime juice and chopped pistachios. (I seem to be on a bit of a pistachio kick lately, as my last posted recipe contained them too). The lime juice just adds a bit more brightness to the fruit (which was very bright already!), and the chopped pistachios add texture a bit of saltiness, and protein. I’m always looking for ways to add protein! I also like this recipe because the topping is light on the flour, leaning more heavily on the old fashioned rolled oats, and as I mentioned above, not much sugar–just 1/4 to 1/3 cup of brown sugar.
With rhubarb season in full swing and strawberry season finally upon us, this is the perfect time to be making this type of dessert. It’s so nice to see fresh strawberries, and the daylight lasting into the evening is beautiful. Because the weather has been so dry lately, we have very few mosquitoes to contend with, so we can be outside in the evenings much more easily than we often can at this time of year. To be able to walk outside in the evening, barefoot, with a bowl of warm strawberry rhubarb crisp in one hand and a spoon in the other, looking for a quiet place to sit and enjoy it–that is one of the joys and luxuries of summer. I hope you are all having a great week!
I will share this recipe at Angie’s weekly Fiesta Friday, co-hosted this week by Margy @ La Petite Casserole and Linda @ La Petite Paniere.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp II
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of fresh rhubarb, finely chopped
- 2 cups of fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of flour (I used all-purpose flour, but you can use any kind)
- 1 tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons of roasted, salted pistachios, shelled and chopped
- 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup (depending on how sweet or tart you want it) of brown sugar, firmly packed
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9-inch pie plate, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, lime juice, and flour. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, and pistachios. With a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture forms crumbs about the size of peas. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the fruit. Bake in your 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Serve warm. I like it just as it is, but you can serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you wish. Enjoy!
This recipe is adapted from My Father’s Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow
It is teacher appreciation week at my kids’ school, and I am helping out with bringing food in to the teachers to make their week special. Fruit pizza is one of the things I took in this week, and this strawberry-mint fruit pizza recipe I am sharing here is the happy product of some experiments in the kitchen the past couple of days. My kids really loved this version, and they were glad I made one to keep at home and didn’t give everything to the teachers. 🙂 (Though teachers do deserve lots of appreciation–that is such an important job!)
One of my favorite parts about making this strawberry-mint pizza was going out into our garden and picking the mint leaves. Such a treat, and a hint of what’s to come as more things start to grow. Of course the possibilities are endless as far as fruit pizzas go, but this combination is really refreshing and tasty, not to mention very pretty!
With my kids’ spring sports schedules starting, I am once again looking for snacks that taste good, can be eaten quickly, and that also have nutrients to give my active kids good energy. I am very happy with this recipe, which I adapted from one in my Dr. Cookie Cookbook by Marvin Wayne and Stephen Yarnall. There’s just enough sweetness from the brown sugar to make the cookies taste like a treat, but enough substance to make them more than just sweet. If you are looking for an easy, protein-rich cookie, this is a great recipe to try.
It is the very last day of March today, and I must say I am really looking forward to April! Although it’s still chilly here, it’s such a great time to be outside, with the fresh wind, green grass, and trees and bushes budding. The spring peepers have been peeping really loudly at night, and I love to sleep with the window cracked open so I can listen to those frogs all night long. There is a feeling of new life and excitement in the air–I can sense it just from watching the birds in the sky.
