Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

I love making fruit crisps and crumbles! They're small on effort but big on taste. The following recipe from www. epicurious.com was the inspiration for the dessert I made to serve up some culinary comfort.

Some of the changes I made were as follows:

• I made it "family style" instead of individual servings.
• I added more strawberries so the filling would fit into a 9"x13" glass baking dish.
• I reduced the cardamom and added cinnamon instead of nutmeg in the fruit filling due to personal preference.
• I also eliminated the orange zest and reduced the orange juice to just a splash as advised by some of the recipe's reviewers.
  
• I had a "gift-mix-in-a-jar" of crisp topping that I used instead of the recipe; but to make a 9"x13" serving of the recipe, you would need to at least double the topping ingredients.

Finally, I always check the recipe's review section for additional ideas and modifications that other cooks made. Sometimes their version is better than the original!

What's YOUR favorite comfort food? Don't forget to vote on the poll in the right hand column!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps with Cardamom and Nutmeg

INGREDIENTS

Topping
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Generous pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Filling
5 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices fresh rhubarb (from about 2 pounds)
2 cups halved strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Sweetened whipped cream

PREPARATION

For topping:
Mix first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until moist clumps form.

For filling:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter six 1 1/4-cup custard cups. Combine all ingredients except whipped cream in large bowl; stir to blend. Let stand until juices form, about 15 minutes.

Divide rhubarb mixture among prepared custard cups. Sprinkle topping evenly over mixture in each. Bake until topping is golden brown and crisp and filling is bubbling thickly around edges, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream.

P.S. This also tastes wonderful the next day for breakfast! bjh