Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb is still going strong at the Green Market and I am still not sick of eating it. Tomorrow is the start of my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group so I am banking on some strawberries so I can begin my rhubarb strawberry combinations. Anyways, last weekend I made a rhubarb crisp. I love how old fashioned and simple a crisp can be. I also love anything that marries well with ice cream.

Here are the ingredients adapted from Martha Stewart's Rhubarb Crisp:
-2 pounds rhubarb (about 6 large stalks), diced into 1/2 inch pieces
-juice of 1 orange
-1 teaspoon grated orange zest
-1 vanilla bean split and scraped (don't worry if you don't have one - just leave it out)
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-2 tablespoons cornstarch
-12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for casserole dish
-1 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (you can use dark if you have it instead)
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 cup rolled oats

To begin preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter 2 1/2 quart shallow baking dish (I just used a 10 inch spring form pan) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and oats. Using a pastry cutter or two knifes, cut in diced butter with flour mixture until large clumps form (about 4-5 minutes). Set aside.
In large bowl combined chopped rhubarb, orange juice, orange zest, and seeds of vanilla bean. In small bowl mix granulated sugar and cornstarch together. Sprinkle over rhubarb mixture until just coated.
Place rhubarb in buttered pan and then sprinkle with oat topping until completely covered. Place in oven for about 30-40 minutes until rhubarb is tender and crisp is golden.
Let cool slightly and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
For Martha Stewart's orginal recipe click here. In her recipe, she puts her crisp in individual ramekins. As I perusing her website I also found an even simpler version that leaves out the orange. For the simpler crisp click here.

To see a quick video of how to scrap the seeds out of a vanilla bean, click here.

For more information on vanilla beans click here.