Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
An Oat-Based Crisp Brings Flavor and Texture
This no-fuss crisp combines sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb with a crispy oat-based topping. Make it for an easy weeknight dessert and serve it warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The leftovers are just as delicious straight from the fridge and make a perfect accompaniment to yogurt for the next morning’s breakfast.
The topping is all about ratios, making it really easy to scale this recipe up or down. Also, the ratio of fruit filling to topping isn’t rigid, meaning it’s easy to alter the recipe to utilize the quantity of fruit you have on hand and just estimate the amount of topping you’ll need. If you have a bit more topping or a bit less, it will still be delicious. Strawberries and rhubarb is a winning combination, but any juicy spring or summer fruits work well.
Minute tapioca, also called quick-cooking or small pearl, makes a brilliant thickener in this recipe. It can be a little hard to find, but its versatility and long shelf life make tracking a box of it down worth the effort. We love using tapioca pearls as a thickener because they are flavorless and efficient at absorbing all the fruit juices without making the filling dry or chalky. Fruit releases a lot of juice when it bakes, and if the juice isn’t absorbed, it will seep into the topping, making it too soft. A bit of tapioca helps maintain the contrasting textures between the soft fruit filling and the crisp topping.
