Life's a Crisp

Here's a sound clip from my brain in the last two weeks:

"Mmmm...local strawberries... must make the most of them while they last..." This thought has so far resulted in strawberry ice cream, strawberry bread, strawberry jam, strawberry parfaits, strawberry salad, strawberry key lime sherbet and of course sliced strawberries with lemon juice and sugar. You'd thinbk I'd had enough strawberries.

NEVER!

Of course I found more at the delightful Amish market. I also grabbed some of the last local rhubarb of the season. I've never actually made anything with rhubarb before, but I had in my mind visions of a fragrant and bubbling strawberry rhubarb crisp. This surpassed my expectations. Ooooh, it is so yummy! The streusel topping really adds the crunch and flavor that is usually lacking in strawberry rhubarb pie. Additionally, reducing the cooking time makes the rhubarb less slimy and more like the texture of an actual veggie, while it's flavor is pure sweet tart.

This recipe makes a lot, since I know I will not use the rhubarb for anything else. This would work just fine if you halved the recipe though.



Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

one recipe of your favorite pie crust (you will need both the "top" and "bottom" crusts) - feel free to cheat and use store bought

Filling:


5 cups fresh local strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
5 cups slightly rosey local rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp freshly ground green cardamom

Streusel Topping



2/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup hazelnut meal
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
10 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

Roll pie dough out to the shape of your pan (I used a large oval - about the same volume as a 13" x 9" dish). Grease the dish and shape the dough into it. Set aside in the fridge until needed.

Combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Let berries macerate in mixture for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 and mix together all streusel ingredients until well combined.

To assemble: pour berry mixture into crust Top with streusel. Fold down edges of the crust over the filling for a rustic look.

Bake for 20 minutes on the bottom rack of the oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Try not to burn you're mouth because you can't wait for it to cool!