If you know me you know that I adore fruits and vegetables so it really came as a surprise to me when, earlier this summer, I realized I had never ever tried rhubarb in my life! I decided to get some rhubarb and figure out how I could prepare it to make it delicious. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was a rhubarb pie, but being gluten-free and plant-based I thought this challenge could wait a little bit until I actually know what rhubarb even tastes like. I decided to start with something a bit simpler. Also baked, kind of pie-like, but without the struggle of coming up with the perfect pie crust/dough without the magic of gluten.
I decided to reach back in memory to when I used to make a lot of blueberry oat crumbles (recipe definitely coming soon) and thought about making it with rhubarb instead.
I quickly realized that having just rhubarb in it wasn't the most delicious thing in the world and that it would need a ton of sugar to make it eatable. And since I don't use refined sugar I decided to pair it with the incredible fruits that are strawberries. Also in season at this time of the years so I thought they would make a perfect pair. And they did.
The crumble came out absolutely yummy. It was perfect for a lovely summer breakfast when served with some plant-based natural coconut yogurt. It also made an awesome summer dessert, especially when paired with some refreshing homemade jackfruit banana vegan ice-cream. And the best thing about it, aside from the flavor, is that it's really easy to make, so without further ado here's my recipe:
Rhubarb Strawberry Oat Crumble Recipe
yields: about 2 big portions or 4 smaller ones, depending on how hungry you are.
Ingredients:
For the fruity bit:
Rhubarb - 2 cups ~ 200g
Strawberries - 2 cups ~ 300g
Maple Syrup (organic) - 2,5 Tbsp
Chia seeds, ground - 1,5 Tbsp
Tapioca starch - 1 Tbsp (optional, but recommended)
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Salt - pinch
For the oat crumble bit:
Oats gf, rolled* - 1 1/4 cups
Almond meal** - 1/4 cup
Pecans*** - 1/4 cup ~ 50g
Salt - pinch
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp
Maple Syrup (organic) - 3 Tbsp
Coconut oil, extra virgin, melted - 2 Tbsp (optional, but recommended)
Method:
First of all, make sure you wash the rhubarb and strawberries well.
Cut the rhubarb into about 1,5cm or 3/4 of an inch long pieces and measure out 2 cups (about 200g)
Cut the green bit off of the strawberries (you can compose that) and cut each strawberry into fours- I cut them once through the middle vertically and once though the middle horizontally, but you can do whatever you like. If the strawberries are very big you might want to cut them up a bit more, if they are small maybe cutting them once in half will do. Now, measure out 2 cups (about 300g) of your strawberry pieces.
To a large mixing bowl add both the strawberries and the rhubarb pieces.
Add all the other ingredients from the "fruit bit" list and gently mix until all the rhubarb and strawberry pieces seem to be covered with a little bit of the starch, syrup and ground chia seeds. Set that bowl aside.
Preheat the oven to 190°C (370°F) at the regular, top-bottom setting.
To another mixing bowl add the oats, almond meal, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
Crush the pecans in your hands. Big chunks are fine, more or less quarters.
Add the pecans into the mixing bowl and mix all of the dry ingredients well.
Add in the maple syrup and melted coconut oil (if using- but it's really much nicer with the oil than without it- though it will work too). Mix everything well until it looks like everything is covered in maple syrup. Yum:)
Prepare a baking dish of choice**** and use some coconut oil to smear it thinly all over the dish's inside to avoid the crumble sticking to it too much.
Gently place the content of the fruity bowl into the baking dish spreading it to create an even layer.
On top of that, add in the crumble layer covering the strawberry and rhubarb layer as well as you can.
Once your oven is at 190°C (370°F), pop the baking dish into the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes until you notice the oats getting crunchy golden brown.
When you take your baking dish out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool down a bit.
This crumble is fantastic eaten warm, especially, like I mentioned, with a natural plant-based yogurt (just get the ones with no added sugar if you can) or with some homemade vegan ice cream. However it also tastes great when it's chilled. It's really up to you.
If you prefer to have it warm and want to save some for later, allow it to cool down completely and store it in your fridge up to 2 days. Whenever you're ready to have it, just pop it in the oven for 5-10 minutes 190°C (370°F), just so it warms up. I wouldn't use the microwave as it will totally lose the crunch this way.
I hope you like it as much as I did!
* Oats- I use gluten-free oats, but if you're not celiac or gluten-sensitive, use the regular kinds, just makes sure it's rolled oats not the instant ones.
** Almond meal is basically ground almonds, you can totally do it yourself using a blender. All you do is you just blend the almonds until you get a flour-like consistency. In this case it's okay if you don't blend it into fine flour; little chunks of crushed almonds in this recipe are absolutely welcome. If you do decided to make it into fine flour, just make sure you don't over blend it cause that will lead to you making almond butter, which is fantastic, juts not for this particular recipe.
*** Pecans- you can use walnuts or other nuts but pecans definitely taste best here.
**** Baking dish- I used the "pie plate" or quiche pan type. This amount of ingredients perfectly fits in one big (d=25cm/10in) round baking dish or in two smaller (d=18cm/7in) round baking dishes or in one rectangular (28x23cm/11x9in) dish, (yes, I've made it multiple times).
