Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

The first time I heard about rhubarb was sitting in the backseat of my parents car, while they listened to “Prarie Home Companion” on the radio. The host would sing, “Bebob-a-Rebob Rhubarb Pie.” As a kid, I thought this was the funniest line in the world. And I remember asking my parents what rhubarb was. They described it as a sour fruit, resembling a pink stalk of celery, popular in pie. Proud of my pickiness at this age, I placed it on my “don’t like list,” since I didn’t like pie.

Each year during this season, suddenly my Instagram turns into Rhubarb central. It’s the ingredient of the moment. Added in pies, sliced beautifully for tarts, smothered with sweet crumble and baked, as is the case here.

Rhubarb is absolutely delicious. And my parents were right. It’s a sour fruit. What they didn’t mention, is that it pairs beautifully with sweet strawberries, that are also perfectly ripe right now and found in all forms on Instagram. Rhubarb is not overly sour, and can be quite sweet, if you choose a dark pink/red stalk. It also cooks pretty quickly which is nice if you want use it as a Pavlova topping. I find it just perfect in this crumble with a bit of vanilla ice cream.