strawberry rhubarb crisp with buttermilk ice cream

I adore rhubarb. It is just one of the reasons why I think Nigella Lawson and I would be good friends. I love it as much for it's sour tang as it's perfect pinkness. I read in a book once that every recipe should have salty and sweet but what really elevates it is the addition of acid. It is a sour brightness that makes all the other flavors dance around on our palettes. Rhubarb contains the sweet sourness all on it's own.

In childhood memories, rhubarb seemed to grow in every backyard in the neighborhood. Our own house had a much neglected plot of it that appeared on it's own every summer. Cutting across the yard on our way to a friends house we would stumble into it and it was kind of like 'Oh yeah, the rhubarb is back again.' Such is the magic of childhood. Nowadays I sometimes feel like the only reliable returning element in my backyard is ants.

But here is a dish of summer nostalgia perfection- strawberry rhubarb crisp. I mixed it up a bit by capping with a scoop of homemade buttermilk ice cream. The labor was not lost. The cool creamy tangy ice cream softened and puddled on the warm sweet crisp.

The crisp recipe is from Barefoot Contessa's 'How Easy Is That?'

strawberry rhubarb crisp

4 cups fresh rhubarb, 1-inch diced (4 to 5 stalks)
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and halved, if large (I cut into quarters, I prefer for the berries to sort of melt into the crisp)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest (I omitted- the juice is enough citrus flavor for me)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oatmeal, such as McCann's
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2) For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, dissolve the the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit.

3) Pour the mixture into an 8 x 11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

4) For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt, and oatmeal. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles.

5) Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

6) Serve warm with buttermilk ice cream (recipe here).

peach and blackberry crisp

Mercy, is this good. It is good out of the oven with vanilla ice cream puddling around it and, like so many things I love, it is good for breakfast the next day with a dollop of greek yogurt (or with more vanilla ice cream!).

The original recipe for this included raspberries, but blackberries were on sale and I was short a peach. So, I doubled the amount of blackberries and a complete success it turned out to be- the purple streaked berries mingled with the soft honey muskiness of the peaches. This of course is to say nothing of the buttery heaven crisp topping.

Please please try this. It makes enough to feed a crowd but less people also just means more leftovers.
This recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.

Peach and Blackberry Crisp

4 to 5 pounds firm ripe peaches (10 to 12 large peaches)
zest of 1 orange
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups plus 2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint blackberries (here the recipe originally called for 1/2 pint raspberries)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the inside of a 10x15x2 1/2 inch oval baking dish

2) Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, then place them in cold water. Peel the peaches and slice them into thick wedges and place them in to a large bowl. Add the orange zest, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the raspberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. If there is a lot of liquid, add 1 more tablespoon of flour. Pour the peaches into the baking dish and gently smooth the top.

3) Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, salt, oatmeal, and the cold, diced butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is pea-sized and the mixture is crumbly.

4) Sprinkle the crisp mixture evenly on top of the peaches and raspberries (or blackberries). Bake for 1 hour until the top is browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator and reheat in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until warm.