Rhubarb is here, the first fruit of the season. But what to do with it can be mystifying.
Here’s an unusual idea: Maple Rhubarb Crisp!
Maple Rhubarb Crisp
Serves 6 to 8
Preheat Your Oven to 375
For the rhubarb:
1-1/2 to 2 lbs Rhubarb (6 to 7 Cups) washed, trimmed of leaves and any brown tips, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. (That’s pretty small.)
3/4 C Dutch Hill Preserves Pure Maple Syrup
3 Tb Flour
For the crisp topping:
4 oz Butter (Yes. One Stick)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 C Flour
1 C Sugar
1 Egg
Toss the rhubarb with maple syrup and flour and pile it into a 9×9 inch baking pan, smoothing out the top.
Melt the butter with the cinnamon and take it off the heat to cool a little.
Rub together the flour, sugar and egg. It will be sticky at first, but just keep rubbing it till it’s granular. Sprinkle it over the rhubarb in the pan. Drizzle the cinnamon butter all over the topping.
Bake about 45 minutes, until the juices bubble thick around the edges.
Serve it warm with a little vanilla ice cream.
(Does that sound like a lot of butter? Okay, let’s do the math. The recipe calls for 4 ounces of butter and it serves 8. That’s 1/2 oz per person, or one tablespoon. Doesn’t sound like too much now, does it?)
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
If anything says “Auntie’s House” better than Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, we can’t think of what it might be.
Yields 1 – 9″ Pie
Preheat Your Oven to 350
1 pt Strawberries, washed, hulled and halved
1 lb Rhubarb (about 4 cups) washed, trimmed of any leaves or brown ends, and cut into 1 inch pieces
1-1/2 c Sugar
1/4 c Flour
Pinch Salt
2 Pie Crusts
2 Tb Butter
Line a 9″ pie tin with a pre-made pie crust, or make your own.
Fold the first five ingredients together and turn them into the bottom crust, then top with the second crust. Dot with butter and cut vent holes. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake 350º for 1hr 10 minutes in the middle of your oven, until the juices run out. (That’s why you need a baking sheet.)