Rye Rhubarb Raspberry Crisp

It is officially my summer! Not technically by the calendar, but my first semester of grad school is complete and I feel free! Not to mention the temperature has remained above freezing for awhile now, which counts as summer for most Wisconsinites. 

I've got a pretty easy next few months ahead of me too, with a light work schedule (it is my last official non-grown-up summer after all!). Hopefully it will continue to be full of bike rides, swimming, cooking and general adventures. 

Now about this here rhubarb crisp. I love a good fruit crisp/crumble, but especially this one. Rhubarb is incredibly easy to prepare. It is simply chopped up into pieces, which totally beats peeling and coring apples.  


I do make myself a little extra work by peeling off any tough strips on the rhubarb. You know what I'm talking about right? Like when you are chopping and all your 1-inch pieces are all being held together by the bottom strip. I peel that off. No stringy or chewy pieces in my crisps. Totally optional.

This crisp started out being only rhubarb, no raspberries. The first time I made it felt like the pan was sparsely filled. I had frozen raspberries in the freezer and here we are.

Using rye flour and rye oats is entirely optional in the topping. The first time around I didn't have rye oats and just used old fashioned oats. Whole wheat flour would be a great substitute for the rye flour, seeing as most of us have it in our pantry.

The rye flour adds a nice earthy sweetness to the topping and complements the tartness of the raspberries and rhubarb.  That being said it is delicious on its on, but I think you would be missing out if you didn't top this with some vanilla ice cream.

xo
April

Ingredients:
For the filling:
1 pound of rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ginger

For the topping:
1/3 cup rye flour or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rye oats or old fashioned rolled oats
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a 8 x 8-inch baking dish, mix together the rhubarb, brown sugar, white sugar, flour, vanilla extract and ginger. Set aside while you make the crumble.
2.  In a medium bowl, add all of the crumble toppings. Using your hands, break up the butter until it resembles pea-side bits or is well incorporated. Place the crumble topping atop the filling; transfer to the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

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