116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cooking @ Home: Fresh Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Iowa summers mean using fresh produce from local farmers markets
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One of the things that I absolutely love about living in Iowa is our access to locally-grown produce from farmers markets. Unlike my weekly trips to the grocery store, I don’t tend to go with a list or a recipe in mind. Rather, I’ll arrive and see what looks the freshest and tastiest, and start to plan a dish (or a whole menu) around those items.
That was the case a couple of weekends ago when I was downtown in Iowa City for the weekly farmers market (as well as the Iowa City Arts Festival, which was great and worth a look while I was down there). A few stands had rhubarb available, and this one spot had gorgeous strawberries. Once I saw those, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
We’ve had our first 90-degree days of the year, so you may be thinking that you don’t want a dessert served at a temperature that can melt marble. But good news! Although this is delicious steaming hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s equally good at room temperature, or even popped into the refrigerator and served chilled.
Recipe
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Serves 12
Ingredients
1 pound rhubarb ends, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 pound strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Topping
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cinnamon. Mix lightly.
Place in well-greased 9x13 baking dish.
Mix together oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, vanilla, baking powder and salt.
Work in butter with a pastry cutter until a crumbly mixture forms.
Press lightly over the sliced fruit and bake in oven until fruit is done and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Source: Alex Gallegos
One piece of advice: when the recipe says to put into a “well-greased” baking dish, it really, really means it. This stuff has the capacity to set up hard if it’s allowed to overcook, so watch it closely. Don’t be afraid to pull it if the fruit is done and the top is golden, even if less time has elapsed. Otherwise, you’ll be spending a lot of time scrubbing your bakeware. No matter what, give it a soak with hot water and let it sit for 30 minutes; it will be much easier to clean.
Finally, if strawberries or rhubarb aren’t your favorite, save this recipe anyway, because you can easily swap out for blueberries, fresh peaches (blanched, peeled and de-stoned), or even peeled and diced apples come fall. Just keep the measurements to about 1.5 to 2 pounds of fruit and adjust your baking time accordingly.
As long as the top is golden brown and the fruit filling is nice and bubbly, it’s good to go!
Alex Gallegos is an enthusiastic home cook who enjoys trying new recipes and learning new techniques. Find this recipe and others like it at PlatefulsOfFlavors.com.
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