Spring rhubarb and strawberry crumble

With the spring in full swing here in The Netherlands and my husband’s and my birthday coming up in the next days, I thought I’d publish a “lighter” post today and show an example of how it is possible to treat yourself and your sweet tooth while also loading up on nutrients!

This is a refined sugar-, dairy-, gluten-free recipe. It’s also very flexible so that you can play with it according to your taste, creativity…and the ingredients in your kitchen!

The stars of the recipe are two spring ingredients, which you find often used in combination: rhubarb and strawberries!

Rhubarb is a fruit-like veggie, with a tart taste. For this reason, it is often combined with something sweeter, such as strawberries! Here some of its nutritional properties.

Rhubarb is rich in:

• fibres, which support digestion, detoxification and elimination;

• vitamin K, essential for blood clotting, supporting healthy bones, making insulin and being sensitive to insulin;

• vitamin C, which has a role as an antioxidant, is needed for a healthy immune system, skin, tissues, blood vessels, bones and teeth, and makes several neutrotrasmitters, among which epinephrine and norepinephrine;

• magnesium, which has hundreds of functions in the body. Just to mention a couple: it is needed to make proteins (everything in our bodies is either a protein or is made up of proteins!), it is needed to utilise energy, it is involved in our ability to relax muscles, it has a role in the activation of vitamin D….;

• potassium, which hydrates cells, is needed for a healthy blood pressure (in balance with sodium), as well as for communication in our nervous system, and has a critical role in controlling our blood sugar and more…;

• manganese, which protects mitochondria (our cells’ powerhouses) from free-radicals, is needed for strong bones, healthy joints and skin, helps metabolise aminoacids, cholesterol and carbohydrates;

• calcium, which is needed to contract our muscles, helps a healthy blood pressure and healthy bones and teeth, is needed for the release of all neurotrasmitters (please note that unfortunately calcium is present in rhubarb in a form that is not easily absorbed);

• phytonutrients such as the carotenoids lutein and zeaxantin which are powerful antioxidants and are best know for protecting our eyes and have a role in recycling glutathione, the “master” antioxidant in our body.

NB One note on rhubarb and nuts, which are also included in this recipe. They are rich in oxalates and might be better avoided in acute cases of kidney stones, or for people at higher risk!

Strawberries need no introduction! I want to note though that they are a fruit that is relatively low in glycemic index (compared to other types of fruit).

Strawberries are rich in:

• fibres, see above;

• vitamin C, see above;

• folate, which is vital for the creation of new cells and for the methylation processes (which have to do with a number of important functions such as detoxification, production of neutrotransmitters, metabolism of histamine, estrogen and fat…);

• vitamin B5 and other vitamins of the B group. Vitamin B5 has a role in the conversion of food into energy and among other thing helps in the conversion of serotonin into melatonin, our sleep hormone;

• potassium, magnesium and manganese, see above;

• polyphenols in the flavonoid category, such as quercetin. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants and quercetin is reported to have anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, and psychostimulant activities.

And finally, the recipe!

Ingredients

For a 28cmx22xcm baking dish

For the pie crust:

• 150g rice flour

• 75g almond or coconut or hazelnut or tigernut flour or a combination (I tried with almond/coconut, tigernut/coconut and hazelnut/coconut)

• a pinch of salt

• 1tsp cream of tartar + 1 tsp baking soda or 1 tsp gluten- and Aluminium-free baking powder

• 1 egg

• 50g melted coconut oil or ghee

• 30g raw honey

• lemon zest (make sure it is from organic, unwaxed lemons)

For the filling:

• 200g rhubarb

• 200g strawberries (fresh or frozen will work!)

• 30g raw honey melted in a bit of warm water

• optional: orange or lemon peel (from organic, unwaxed citruses)

• optional: a few mint leaves

For the crumble:

• 40g gluten-free oats or buckwheat flakes

• 35g slivered almonds or any other type of nuts (I tried with almonds and peacans)

• 20g melted coconut oil or ghee

Instructions:

For the filling:

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Cut rhubarb and strawberries in big chunks

Place rhubarb, strawberries and, if desired, the orange or lemon and honey in a baking dish

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the rhubarb has softened

Once out of the oven, use a fork to mash and mix rhubarb and strawberries

Let the filling cool down for 15 minutes

For the pie crust:

Mix all the dry ingredients

Mix all the egg with the melted coconut oil or ghee

Pour the liquid on the dry flours and mix

Use ¾ of the mix and flatten out in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Make your crust very thin, 2 or 3 mm.

For the crumble:

Mix the remaining ¼ of the dough ingredients with the crumble ingredients until you obtain a chunky crumble.

Combining the pie:

Pour the rhubarb and strawberry compote on the pie crust

Top with the crumble

Bake for about 30 minutes at 180°C

Let it fully cool down before eating!

Enjoy!

Now, I’d like to hear from you! Do you have favourite recipes with rhubarb and/or strawberries? Or can you come up with some? Do you include these ingredients in your diet during spring? Let me know in the comments below!