Seasonal Foods: Rhubarb and Sour Cherry Crumble

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Rhubarb’s sour stem is a favorite in desserts. The root is a herbal remedy for digestive issues.

Rhubarb grows in many northern gardens and announces the warm days of late spring. Traditionally, this sour stem was used for desserts with lots of sugar. The root was used in herbal remedies for digestive issues. This rhubarb recipe has no sugar or grains and is safe for someone on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, GAPS or a modified Paleo Diet.

This recipe is a rework of a seasonal food recipe called Rhuburb Crumble. Rhubarb coming up in my garden is a reminder for me to clean out my freezers of any frozen fruit from last year. This year I am looking to use up some sour cherries.

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Cut the rhubarb stems into thin, diagonal slices and simmer in butter and salt until tender.

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Add the frozen sour cherries or other frozen fruit from last year’s harvest.

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Add the raisins at the end of cooking to help soak up the juices from the rhubarb and sour cherries.

Rhubarb Filling
6-8 garden rhubarb stems, diagonal slices
2-3c garden sour cherries, frozen
1c organic raisins
1/4c butter
large pinch sea salt
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground (optional)
In a large sauce pan, simmer the rhubarb in butter and salt until soft. Add the sour cherries and warm through. Add the raisins and cook briefly to soak up the juices from the rhubarb and sour cherries. Add the cinnamon. Taste the mixture and add more raisins for a sweeter filling, if desired.

Nut Crumble
1c dried organic coconut, shredded
1c organic sunflower seeds, whole
1c organic pecans, whole
large pinch of sea salt
1tsp organic cinnamon, ground
1/4c organic butter, cut into cubes
In a food processor, grind the coconut, sunflower seeds, pecans, salt and cinnamon into a coarse flour. To make the crumble, add the butter and mix briefly. Do not over mix. Pour the rhubarb filling into a buttered baking dish. Smooth the top down and lightly press the mixture into the dish. Top with the nut crumble and lightly press down the topping. Cook at 300F for 30-40 minutes. Do not overcook the nut topping or it will have a burnt taste. Refrigerate before eating with ice cream.

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Pour the rhubarb filling into a buttered baking dish. Looks delicious!

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Top with the nut crumble and lightly press down the topping.

If you don’t have a favorite ice cream recipe, here are two of mine:
Coconut Ice Cream
Walnut Maple Ice