Mini strawberry-rhubarb crisps with ginger and coconut, perfect for any party.
The theme this week at Sunday Supper is Potlucks. Can you remember your first one? There may have been potlucks earlier in my life, but the big neighborhood picnics we had where I grew up in Marlee Acres (outside Pittsburgh) is where my potluck-memory begins.
I haven't been back there in decades now, a lifetime, and have mixed feelings about ever going back. Part of me, a big part, wants to keep my memories firmly in place – wooded lots aflame every autumn, the pond that froze over just before the first “Y” for an ice skating rink, and a park-like area bordered by a big (in my childhood memory) creek where we'd hold potluck picnics every Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. If that's all been filled in with homes with basketball nets nailed over tidy 2-car garages, I'm fine with not knowing that.
Gatherings like potlucks always suggest to me a big crowd of people, as if it's too big a group for any one person to cook for. Neighbors, family, and friends catch up on news, laughter punctuates excited chatter, and an abundance of food shows up in tupperware containers of all shapes and sizes. But that's a lie. A potluck can be 3 or 4 friends combining delicacies from their refrigerator to share with each other. When I lived outside Boston, many years ago, four of us with abutting condos put together a potluck every couple of weeks. We shared food, our troubles, our lives – and formed a family of sorts.
Potlucks are casual, almost by definition. Leave the tie and jacket at home. And the food should match that kick-your-feet-up attitude. So leave the haute cuisine with assembled towers of food and pastry encrusted salmon at home with the tie. Potlucks are all about burgers, potato salads, and crisps like this one.
Mini Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps
Ingredients
Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger or Gourmet Garden's Lightly Dried Ginger
- 2 cups fresh rhubarb cut into 1/2” pieces
- 3 cups strawberries halved (large ones are quartered)
Crisp Topping
- 2 ounces all-purpose flour I use Einkorn - a non-hybridized, ancient grains wheat
- 1/2 ounce coconut flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, sliced into 1/4″ sections
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- Ice cream I prefer vanilla coconut ice cream!
Instructions
Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling
- Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.
- Whisk together the juices, cornstarch, spices, sugar, and ginger in a small bowl until the cornstarch and sugar dissolves. Place the fruit in a large bowl, and pour the juice over it. Gently toss to coat. Divide between 6 ramekins.
Crisp Topping
- Mix together the flours, brown sugar, oats, coconut, and salt in a medium bowl. Rub the butter into it until small pea-sized pieces form, like a crumble. Divide the topping between the ramekins.
- Sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on each crisp.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbly.
- Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.
Liz says
Gorgeous crisps, Susan! I’d need this built in portion control!
Nancy P. | The Bitter Side of Sweet says
I love reading about your memories of potlucks, we didn’t attend to many when growing up but love to have them now!
Carlee says
My husband loves rhubarb, but I have very little experience with it. He would be in heaven if I surprised him with these!
cathy says
I tried this as mini-tarts and love both ideas.
http://delawaregirleats.typepad.com/blog/2016/05/strawberry-rhubarb-mini-tarts.html
Kristin @ Dizzy Busy and Hungry says
These look amazing! I bet they are fabulous with the ice cream!
mjskitchen says
I love potlucks but it’s been a long time since I’ve been to one. Maybe it’s time to bring it back with my friends. What a fun theme for Sunday Supper. You brought the perfect dessert! Strawberry rhubarb anything is my favorite dessert fruit! Love your crisps!
Caroline says
These sound delicious and I love that you don’t need to fight over who got the bigger portion 🙂
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm says
Rhubarb crisps are one of my favorites.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
i love fruit crisps for summer! mainly because i can top them with cool melted-y ice-cream. gorgeous recipe!