Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Strawberry season is in full swing here in Ontario. I was finally able to get out strawberry picking on Canada Day this past Sunday at Barrie Hill Farms and picked about 20 pounds of berries in a hour. I admit, I had help. Simon picked a few and Timothy was there in a purely supervisory role and to keep my mom in line.
I was too tired to make jam on Monday since we had just returned from an extra long weekend away in Niagara Falls and then to visit family in Barrie. The dogs enjoyed their holiday at Nana and Poppa’s while the rest of us were at Great Wolf Lodge listening to kids run around the halls at 11:30 at night. George’s thieving was limited to only a whole pound cake, so it was a pretty light weekend for him.
George spend most of the day in bed on Monday and Buffy would lay wherever I planned on stepping next in the kitchen; as per usual. Having George so tired was quite nice because I didn’t have to wrestle him away from the strawberries in the fridge every time I opened the door like I have been doing the past couple of days.
There are rolled oats in this recipe and there are many people who are gluten-intolerant who can’t eat even the certified gluten-free rolled oats. If you are one of these people then substitute an extra tablespoon of gluten-free flour, ground almonds and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of flaked almonds for a nice crunch. If you are not gluten-intolerant and have just plain rolled oats in the house and are going to serve this to someone who is gluten-intolerant then please be aware that most rolled oats on the market are, to use a strong word, contaminated with gluten. You have to go to the special food aisle where the gluten-free flour is and look for the gluten-free oats. I use Bob’s Red Mill brand. I am finding that this brand is my favourite so far. If there are other suggestions out there, then please leave a comment as I would like to try new options.
I wanted the flavours of the strawberries to come through and I find that when baked strawberries can mellow somewhat so I used just a pinch of ginger and cardamom for a hint of spice. I had wanted to make strawberry-rhubarb jam with honey on Monday but that didn’t work out. I love the flavour of honey with strawberries and rhubarb, so I used a little bit of strong buckwheat honey in the crisp topping and a milder honey to sweeten the fruit part. I plan on making this in the dead of winter with frozen rhubarb and strawberries just to remind myself that summer will come again and with it, local Ontario strawberries.
{Note after posting: If you prefer a runnier mix for fruit, simply reduce the cornstarch to 2 tbsp.}
Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup ground almonds
- 1/4 cup milled flaxseed
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/3 cup organic brown sugar
- 1 tbsp local buckwheat honey
- pinch each of cardamom and ginger
- 1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
- 4 cups washed and hulled strawberries
- 2 tbsp vanilla sugar optional
- 3 tbsp corn starch less if you like it runnier
- 1/3 cup local honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- In a food processor, combine the butter, gluten-free flour, ground almonds, flaxseed, brown sugar, spices and buckwheat honey. Pulse the machine until it is blended. It will be the texture of moist sand, ie. mostly loose but if you pinch some together it stays together briefly.
- Add the rolled oats and pulse again until they are well mixed in but not obliterated by the blade of the machine. Set the topping aside.
- Chop rhubarb stalks into one centimetre size chunks and measure out one and a half cups and place in a large bowl.
- Wash and hull 4 cups of fresh strawberries and add to the bowl with the rhubarb.
- Mix strawberries and rhubarb with honey, vanilla sugar and corn starch until they are evenly coated.
- Pour fruit into a shallow casserole dish* and spread it evenly.
- Pour the crisp topping into the centre of the fruit and spread it evenly but not all the way to the edges.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until the juices are very bubbly around the sides. To check to make sure it is done, use a knife to push through the crisp topping in the middle and make sure it is bubbling in the centre as well. Otherwise the corn starch won't be cooked through and will still be pastey looking.
- Serve warm or room temperature with good vanilla ice cream.
Hi Christina, can I buy gluten-free oats at Bulk barn? My sister is allergic.
I’m not sure. I hesitate to buy things from Bulk Barn if there is an allergy because of the open containers. I do know that at most major grocery stores you can get ‘wheat free oats’. In Canada they aren’t allowed to say they are gluten-free. I have bought the Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Free Oats from Zehrs many times before.