6.03.2012

Welcoming Early Summer

This week, I had the opportunity to have dinner with some new friends.  My mother always taught me that one never shows up to a gathering empty-handed, and I love to cook for others, so I offered to bring the desert.
It was to be a warm, sunny, perfect early-summer day, so I wanted a desert to reflect the bourgeoning season.  To me, nothing says the arrival of June like strawberries and rhubarb.  And thus, a desert was born.
I'd missed the morning's farmer's market, so off to the co-op I schlepped, Cream City Pooch in tow, for supplies.  Organic berries.  Local Rhubarb.  Sassy Cow vanilla ice cream.
For inspiration, I reached out to two of my favorite gluten-free recipe sources, Gluten Free Girl and Gluten Free Goddess.
Here's what resulted:


Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp


Filling:
1 qt       Fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (Buy organic!  Strawberries are part of the Dirty Dozen.)
2 C.      Rhubarb, chopped
1 T       Cornstarch
1 1/2 T Sugar
1 tea     Vanilla

Topping:
1/2 C.   Almond flour
1/2 C.   Gluten-free Oats
1/2 C.   Brown rice flour
1/2 C.   Cornmeal
1 tea     Baking powder
1/2 tea  Salt
3/4 C.   Brown sugar
1 C.      Butter, frozen

Preheat oven to 375. In a buttered baking dish (8x8, or shallow casserole works fine), toss fruit with cornstarch and sugar.  Drizzle with vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry topping ingredients and brown sugar.  Using a box grater or microplane, grate in frozen butter. (This breaks up the butter into small pieces and makes it easy to combine with the dry ingredients.)  With a fork or pastry cutter, incorporate butter into the dry ingredients.  When the mixture looks like pea-sized crumbles, you're ready to rock.
Dump the topping on top of the fruit mixture in the baking dish.  Spread it out so that all the fruit is covered.
Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 25 - 30 minutes, or until the topping is nicely browned and the fruit juices begin to bubble up through.
Cool for at least 15 minutes before digging in.  Serve with fresh whipped dairy cream or coconut milk, or with ice cream.
Sit back, sigh, and welcome summer into your home and your mouth.



(Please excuse the bad phone photos...)