Rhubarb and the Farmer's Market

Sometimes in the summer, when I go to the farmer's market, the produce looks to perfect, so lovely to the eye (and I can tell to the tongue as well) that I end up buying all sorts of produce that I have no idea what to cook with it, I just know I need to have it. This happened to me last weekend. I stopped by to pick up a few staples and there it was — rhubarb, stalky, reddish pink, — just daring me to take it home with me.

Clearly this rhubarb was telling me to buy strawberries and make a strawberry rhubarb something, but what to make? A pie was out, since embarrassingly enough, I don't own a pie dish. I decided to make a fruit crisp since a cobbler can be on the heavier side, something I wasn't seeking out since it has been so hot and humid lately.

I decided to use ginger to jazz up the flavors a bit. Strawberry rhubarb is a classic flavor combo, but I was looking for something a little more sophisticated, a little more contemporary. A little chopped ginger mixed in with the berries and rhubarb gave it some heat, making it almost exotic in flavor.

Gingered Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Crunchy Cornmeal Topping

Preheat oven to 375.

Make the topping.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cormeal
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
Pinch salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons slightly softened unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions
Combine the flour, cornmeal, both sugars, salt, and cinnamon o, if using, in a medium bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it's well blended and the mixture crumbles coarsely; it should hold together when you pinch it. Refrigerate until needed.

Prepare the fruit

Ingredients
3 cups chopped rhubarb
3 cups strawberries, halved
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in the juice on one lemon

Assemble and start baking
Pour the fruit mixture into an 8- or 9-inch square (or similar-capacity) glass or ceramic baking dish. Top the fruit with half of the topping (refrigerate the other half) and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining topping over the crisp and continue baking until the fruit is tender when pierced with a knife, the topping is crisp, and the juices are bubbling, another 20 minutes. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.