Recipe of the Moment: Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb is in season, and all the sites and books promoting local foods are chatting about it. I had no idea what it was or what to do with it, but I figured I might as well try it. Looking through all the rhubarb recipes on Epicurious, only one really jumped out at me, and since I just bought a bunch of strawberries at the farmer's market that morning, I figured it would be fairly simple to make.

Ingredients
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
Large pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup old fashioned oats




1/2 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 pound strawberries, hulled, halved (about 4 cups)
12 ounces rhubarb (preferably bright red), ends trimmed, stalks cut

Preparation

Spread walnuts or almonds on baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes in oven at 350.

Combine flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Blend. Add butter. Rub in with fingertips until the mixture sticks together in clumps. Mix in oats and nuts.

Preheat oven to 375. Butter/spray/aluminim foil pan.

Place 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl. Add vanilla. Blend well. Add strawberries and rhubarb to bowl and toss to coat. Scrape fruit mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle oat topping evenly over fruit.

Bake until filling bubbles and topping is crisp, about 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream.