The Cook’s Kitchen

A glut of rhubarb from the garden, combined with a pint of strawberries that had seen better days, forced me to come up with a mid-week dessert to satisfy my family. It was unusual to serve dessert on a Wednesday, but I knew no one in the house would stand for another batch of rhubarb-pecan muffins, delicious though they are.

Often we indulge in fruit desserts, thinking they are lower in calories, but all fruit is not created equal. Apples are higher in calories than some other fruit – one apple has 82 calories compared to 18 calories in five strawberries, and 28 calories in 1 cup chopped rhubarb. So this dessert has used a mixture of fruit to deliver a guilt-free dessert.

Three-Fruit Crisp

3 medium-size apples
1 pint strawberries
4 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
3 tbsp each granulated sugar and all-purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon

Topping
2/3 cup large-flake oats
1/3 cup each all-purpose flour and brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and core apples. Slice into thin wedges. Place in a large bowl. Hull strawberries, then cut into quarters and place in bowl with apples. If using frozen rhubarb, place in a sieve and rinse under cold water to remove ice crystals. Place rhubarb in bowl with other fruit. In a small bowl, stir 3 tbsp each sugar and flour with ½ tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over fruit and toss to evenly coat. Turn into an oblong baking dish. Gently press down to even out surface.

For topping, in a medium-size bowl, stir oats with flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Slowly drizzle in butter, stirring in with a fork. Evenly scatter over top of fruit.

Bake uncovered in center of preheated 350F oven until fruit starts to bubble around edges and a knife tip inserted in center of crisp comes out hot, about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of vanilla yogurt. Leftovers (if any) keep well, covered, and refrigerated 2 to 3 days.

Source: Chatelaine Magazine May 2004