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With JAN D’ATRI

GetOut Contributor

Strawberry Rhubarb cobbler a neighborly treat

There are two things I absolutely love – a great recipe and great neighbors. When the two come together, life is pretty awesome!

It happened this week when my sweet neighbor, Deborah Alyea saw me pull up to the driveway, and scurried over with a beautiful baking dish of bountiful goodness right out of the oven. “I wanted you to have it while it’s still piping hot and bubbling.”

Deborah had just baked the most amazing strawberry rhubarb cobbler and I was the lucky recipient. I’m not sure I should admit this, but I texted her a picture of her baking dish just several hours later. It was scraped clean except for maybe one more serving.

Yes, it was that good. I’m not sure who came up with the combination of strawberries and rhubarb, but thank you, whoever you are! Rhubarb season is incredibly short and right now is the peak of it, so I’m so happy to pass along this delicious dish to you right now, while you can still fi nd those long red stalks.

The fi lling is wonderful with either a pie crust topping or cobbler, and I was ecstatic that Deborah chose the latter. I love that rich crumble topping with the sweet fruit below. And if you have a neighbor as wonderful as Deborah Alyea, maybe make an extra and make someone’s day. ■

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced in half 4 cups (4-5 large stalks) fresh rhubarb cut into 1-inch pieces 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided 2 teaspoons grated orange zest 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 cup all-purpose fl our 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup oatmeal (quick cooking, but not instant) 1-½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, diced and chilled Whipped cream, Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the fruit, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and the orange zest together in a large bowl. In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit.

Pour the mixture into an 8-by-11-inch baking dish and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (That’s to catch any spills from the dish.) For the topping, in the bowl of an electric mixer fi tted with the paddle attachment, combine the fl our, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, salt and oatmeal.

With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 1 hour, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.