Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble

Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble is a classic spring/summer dessert that I've always wanted to try. I love crumbles of almost any variation and the sweet-tart combination of strawberries and rhubarb is absolutely wonderful. If you don't cook with it, Rhubarb stalks look similar to pink/red celery and they have a tart crispness similar to apples. I don't recommend eating it raw by any means but it bakes up beautifully in desserts. You can find it in the produce section of almost any grocery store. I found this recipe at the very end of last month's Bon Appetit magazine and decided to give it a try. I halved the recipe, using a smaller (8x8 would be ideal) square glass baking dish instead of a 9x13. First I preheated the oven to 375. Then I cleaned and sliced the fruit (2 cups strawberries, halved and approx 4 stalks of rhubarb, cut in half length wise and the into 1/2 inch pieces) and tossed it with 1/4 cup of sugar that I'd mixed with the seeds of half a vanilla bean.

I set the fruit aside while I made the crumble topping: 1/2 stick chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes Scant 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats 1/4 cup husked hazelnuts, toasted , coarsely chopped 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour small pinch of salt

I mixed it all together in my standing mixer with the paddle attachment until it started resembled a struesel texture (about 4 minutes on a medium-low speed.)

I poured first the fruit into the baking dish sprayed lightly with Pam and then sprinkled the topping over. I baked it in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes until the topping was barely golden brown and juice at the edges of the pan were bubbling.

I served it still warm with a generous scoop of John's favorite Mayfield Vanilla Ice Cream and it was fantastic. The filling was the perfect blend of sweet and tart, complimented nicely by the crunchy topping. The added flavor from the hazelnuts really made it. So yummy...

We ate left overs for a day or two and I'd venture to say it doesn't keep much longer than that in the fridge- it starts to get a little soggy...