A June Love Story: Strawberry and Rhubarb

A few years back, I was gifted a rhubarb plant by ELF gardening guru, Michael Breshears. It was small at the time but has since grown into a lush beauty, especially so this year with the near-perfect spring weather we've enjoyed. So, when I received a quart of strawberries in my CSA farm share this week, I knew I'd be baking a strawberry and rhubarb treat as soon as possible. Pie is generally my go-to, but then I saw this crumble recipe on social media and couldn't stop my mouth from watering. Now, I'm generally a crisp girlie, not a crumble maker, because I like feeling just a little bit healthier with the addition of oats in the streusel that distinguishes a crisp from a crumble. Also not to be confused with a cobbler, that uses batter or biscuits, and the more cake-like buckle. This recipe was a take on a crumble by food critic, writer, and Food Network alum Nigella Lawson that uses a not-so-secret ingredient to keep the crumble puffy and perfect: baking powder. Adding a teaspoon of baking powder as a leavening agent allows the crumble a better ratio of fruit to topping in each bite without adding more butter, according to home cook and Smitten Kitchen founder Deb Perelman. She wasn't wrong. This recipe baked up beautifully and the topping was a rich and chunky delight of texture atop the fruity mixture. The cornstarch in the recipe really helps gel the strawberry and rhubarb together, so don't skip that ingredient. The original recipe called for three or four tablespoons, and I went with a solid four for good thickening results. Not surprisingly, I subbed a couple of things, but still had gorgeous results. Instead of the original turbinado sugar (Sugar In The Raw), I used brown sugar after reading a few reviews that said it worked similarly. Turbinado might give it a touch more crunch, but I didn't have any on-hand at the time. Likewise, I subbed salted butter for unsalted butter in the topping and just omitted the additional pinch of salt called for in the recipe. I was a little short with my amount of strawberries and a little over on rhubarb, but the recipe seemed to handle that minor discrepancy just fine. The sweet and tart combination of strawberry and rhubarb flavor defies duplication, and it defines June for me year after year, as fleeting as strawberry season may be for us here in New England. All we can hope for is to enjoy it for as long as it lasts and hopefully freeze a bunch for the rest of the year. There's a second recipe I'm eager to try as soon as I get my hands on a few more quarts of strawberries: rhubarb-and-strawberry-infused gin. It's got June written all over it. Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble Adapted from smittenkitchen.com Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar 3 Tbsp. turbinado or brown sugar Finely grated zest of one medium-large lemon Pinch of salt 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in 1-inch pieces 1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered Juice of one lemon 1/2 cup granulated sugar 4 Tbsp. cornstarch, or 3 Tbsp. tapioca flour/starch Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare topping: In mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugars, lemon zest, pinch of salt (unless using salted butter) and melted butter. Mix until small and large clumps form. Refrigerate until needed to keep firm. Prepare filling: Toss rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and pinch of salt in a 7-cup baking dish, or deep 9-inch pie plate. Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit evenly. Place baking dish on a baking sheet (if desired) to prevent spillage, and bake until crumble topping is golden brown, and fruit is bubbling up from underneath, about 40 to 50 minutes.