Strawberry rhubarb pie has always been my dad’s favorite. Luckily, after all these years, he still doesn’t know when strawberries and rhubarb are in season, despite the fact that his birthday falls at the beginning of the season. So I get to surprise him with a pie for his birthday Every. Single. Year.
One week I opened up my CSA box and was surprised to find a bunch of rhubarb and not one, but two quarts of strawberries!
I wasn’t going to share both quarts with my family (I’m selfish when it comes to berries), but I also didn’t think I could eat both quarts by myself before they went bad.
Pie Or Crumble?
Now one quart of strawberries and one bunch of rhubarb isn’t enough to make a pie, but it is enough to make a crumble.
My dad is mostly paleo-ish, and whenever I cook for my parents, I make paleo food. When I decided to make a crumble, I wanted it to be a paleo crumble.
What Is A Crumble?
A crumble is typically a fruit-based dessert, although you can make a savory version too, that is sometimes called a crisp. The fruit is added first and the crust is added as a topping, which while baking breaks into small fragments.
A crumble doesn’t really need flour, which makes it easy to create a Paleo version.
Combine some nuts, mix them with butter, add honey as a sweetener (and to hold it all together) and maybe add some seasonings and you’ve got yourself everything you need to make a paleo crumble.
My dad likes his desserts nice and tart and I inherited that preference from him (don’t get him started on the time I stole his key lime pie when I was a year-and-a-half old).
This version is actually a little too sweet for him. He probably would have preferred if I had used two or two-and-a-half tablespoons of honey. I also used two cups of rhubarb, instead of one, for extra tartness.
This recipe is a nice combination of sweet and tart that most people can enjoy - whether they’re Paleo or not.
For a crumble that’s more tart, you can add more rhubarb and use a little less than the three tablespoons of honey. If, on the other hand, you want a sweeter treat, feel free to use a little more.
This crumble didn’t last long with my family, but I made a couple cherry versions that we shared with some non-paleo friends and family and I didn’t hear any complaints. My eight year-old cousin even took a second helping without any idea she was getting a healthy treat. ;)
Breakfast Or Dessert, You Choose
We always eat our crumbles with ice cream, but it’s delicious all on it’s own.
And if you wind up with leftovers, you can even serve it cold for your Paleo breakfast the next day!
