Rhubarb

Salty Almond Rhubarb Crisp

by:
March 21, 2022
5
1 Ratings
Salty Almond Rhubarb Crisp
Photo by James Ransom. Prop Stylist: Alya Hameedi. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog.
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 6 to 8
Author Notes

Few foods taste more like spring than rhubarb. The raw stalks are actually so tart they’ll cause instant pucker-face (just don’t eat any leaves, which are toxic!), but once cooked, the vegetable mellows to tart and citrusy, making it an ideal foil to the sweet topping of a fruit crisp. The ruby-hued stalks typically make appearances in strawberry rhubarb pie, but I’m here to tell you to embrace rhubarb’s solo career. This rhubarb crisp is sweet and floral thanks to honey and a bit of orange or grapefruit, and the whole thing comes together with a salted almond, oat, and brown sugar crumble topping.

Note: If making this crisp using a glass baking dish, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. If you can’t find rhubarb, the same amount of just about any fruit will suffice—a combination of strawberries and cranberries will most closely mimic the flavor of rhubarb, but I’m not the crisp police, and you should use what moves you. —Rebecca Firkser

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Salty Almond Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients
  • Filling
  • 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup (84 grams) honey
  • 3 tablespoons orange or grapefruit juice (or 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
  • 1 tablespoon orange, grapefruit, or lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon (7 grams) cornstarch or all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (optional)
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • Topping
  • 2 cups (178 grams) rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 5 tablespoons (65 grams) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup (35 grams) roasted, salted almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans, roughly chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 10 tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter, melted
  • Flaky sea salt
Directions
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. In an 8-inch metal cake pan (round or square), toss together the rhubarb, honey, orange juice, orange zest, cornstarch, black pepper (if using), and salt.
  2. In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, almonds, cardamom, and salt. Drizzle over the butter and combine. Use your hands to squeeze together roughly 2-inch clumps of the topping, then scatter them over the filling.
  3. Bake the crisp, rotating the pan halfway through, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky salt and serve warm or at room temperature, or transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours to serve cold.
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1 Review

Tarcher49
Tarcher49 May 18, 2024
This is a wonderful recipe! Really highlights the rhubarb. Love that it is tart, much less sweet than most crumbles, and great crumble ingredients. Yes, pepper belongs in this recipe. That is what convinced me to try it - we always put pepper in strawberry shortcake.