Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp
Rhubarb is another one of those foods that I’ll gladly eat on any menu. I’ll show it love purely because it’s unique and not used very often. I haven’t had it in too many savory dishes, though, which is unfortunate. I toyed with the idea of a spiced rhubarb chutney, rhubarb cornbread stuffing, and rhubarb potato gratin. Don’t those sound really good?
In the end I wussed out got lazy. I had the bag of frozen rhubarb from my grandma’s garden plus a jar of blackberries. It practically made itself. The hardest part was waiting long enough to let everything thaw and drain. No one wants a soggy crisp [oxymoron much?]. Besides, what better way to test for thawed rhubarb than by eating it piece by piece? These pieces were super green and tart, which was perfect for the overly ripe and sweet blackberries.
Taking a photo of crisp sucks by the way. You know it tastes good. That’s all that matters.
Inspiration: Flourgirl
Ingredients
- 4 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
- 2 cups blackberries [drained if using canned]
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup butter
Preparation
In a large bowl, mix together the rhubarb, blackberries, sugar, flour, and one teaspoon of cinnamon. Let it sit while you preheat the oven to 350° and make the topping. In the bowl of a food processor, add the brown sugar, rolled oats, butter, and remaining teaspoon of the cinnamon. Pulse until it’s well mixed and the butter is now broken into small, pea-sized chunks.
In an 8×8″ glass baking pan, pour the blackberry mixture. Drain it first if your berries created a lot of juice while macerating in the sugar/flour. Top the berries with the oat mixture. Bake the crisp for 25-30 minutes until the top is crisp and the filling hot and bubbly. Allow the crisp to sit under the broiler for a few minutes for an extra crisp topping.
Serve warm. It’s way better that way.
Hey, you know the worst-looking food always tastes the best, right? Crumble is definitely on that list. 🙂 I can’t wait to find some fresh rhubarb to bake with!
I have definitely eaten a ton of ugly stuff in my day!
Ah, I love rhubarb. I always order it when I see it on menus too — usually if a restaurant is bold enough to use it, they’ll do it justice by using it in a really cool way. My brother and I ordered a rhubarb fool not too long ago and it was sooooo good. I think my brother said it was his favorite dessert, ever (! he is like me when it comes to food, so he wouldn’t just throw that around). It really made me wanna try this: http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2012/05/rhubarb-fool-with-cardamom-cream/
But yeah, rhubarb + sweet berry fruit + crisp topping… really it’s hard to go wrong. Always makes the best dessert.
Ohmahgah. Rhubarb and cardamom. Please and thank you. That sounds so dang good. I had a rhubarb and vanilla sorbet a few weeks ago. Now the same place is serving a chèvre and strawberry-rhubarb jam ice cream. I love creativity so much.
Um, yes, those recipes do all sound amazing. I haven’t had rhubarb in years–My family stopped growing it and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a grocery store. Maybe it would be in the snootier high-end ones, but I never think to look. Maybe I need to plant some of my own. Off to research if it grows well in TN…
Nope. Likes Northern climates. Guess that explains why I haven’t seen it since moving south…
I’ve only started to see a few stalks in our snooty stores and I’m in that northern climate. It’s an elusive beast.