In the Philippines they have this expression: hala.
I know you want to say it this way, but it’s not holla. And it’s not hah-lah. It’s more like, hulá. Which makes it sound like hoola, which is also not correct. Fail.
It’s just huh-LA, and by now I hope you’ve tried to say it outloud at least once. It’s kind of a cool way of saying “Oh my gosh” or “I can’t believe it.” For example, the girls in my class would give me a good huh-LA! when I would assign them extra homework. Heads whipping up from tables, eyes popping wide open, and a nice passionate huh-LA always gets the point across.
Huh-LA can also be a good thing, like “This is amazing!” Like when we made gingerbread houses at Christmastime with the kids and the preschool viewing parade came around to the back table to find that the boys group had created not a house, but an open-air tropical mini restaurant with candy, frosting and graham crackers. That’s a huh-LA moment in the life of a preschooler. And/or food blogger teacher.
When I saw that picture of those crumbs and that yummy farmer’s market rhubarb and those cutie strawberries today, in my mind I said: huh laaaaaaa. That looks good.
And then I felt a little sad about not being in the Philippines.
This beautiful paleo strawberry rhubarb crisp lived a full life of about 5 minutes before being devoured by me, Bjork, and Bjork’s friend Paul, while watching Zero Dark Thirty. Totally appropriate girly dessert/superintense movie pairing.
Know what? Two men unknowingly devouring a homemade paleo fruit crumble and loving it is mysteriously satisfying. I honestly wasn’t trying to trick anyone but I found myself smugly smiling from the kitchen and intentionally withholding the knowledge that this was “healthy”. Evil me.
So the elephant in the room: this is a paleo recipe. In my head I say it pah-LAY-oh but I think it’s actually PAY-lee-oh. Which ultimately gets to the bottom of what I want to say which is that I’m not a paleo person. Paleo usually means you only eat these things: meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I’m more of an everything person, but I really love trying new things like being paleo for one dessert.
When my cousin (technically cousin’s wife so therefore cousin in law?) sent me this recipe, I got excited when I saw ingredients like coconut flour, almond meal, arrowroot powder, and coconut oil. It justified a trip across town to the fancy grocery store that has carpet and sent me on a new food adventure.
Bjork was hooked on the cinnamon-honey smell that overtook our house in .3 seconds after taking it out of the oven. This is kind of a drier, almost more moist cake-like fruit crumble, not like your super saucy apple crisps or berry cobbler type things that just completely overtake the whole plate with fruit juice. The top on this gets crispy, and the bottom soaks up the sauciness of the fruit, and the fruit is extra sweet and soft, leaving you with this sticky, yummy, just juicy enough strawberry rhubarb miracle.
I usually skip the obligatory scoop of vanilla ice cream with my desserts, but this time I felt brave and I added it. Ten stars, you guys. It gave THE PERFECT texture and creaminess to this crumble.
Because at the end of the day, I’m still an everythingtarian who loves her Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp – and it’s paleo.
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 8 1x
Description
This paleo strawberry rhubarb crisp was a total hit with my husband who had no idea it was anything different than the original. Yummy!
Ingredients
Scale
For the filling
- 2 cups rhubarb, diced
- 2 cups strawberries, diced
- zest from one orange (or lemon)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 5 Tablespoons honey
- a pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder*
For the crumbles
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 3/4 cups almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 Tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the strawberries and rhubarb in a large mixing bowl with the orange zest, lemon juice, honey, salt, and arrowroot powder and mix well.
- Mix the pecans, flours, cinnamon, salt and honey together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in the coconut oil with your hands or a pastry cutter until the mixture begins to form crumbs.
- Grease an oven proof casserole or skillet and spoon in the fruit filling. Crumble the topping evenly over the top. Bake for 25 minutes, checking occasionally. When the topping is browned and the fruit is bubbling, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
*Arrowroot powder acts like cornstarch. I found some at my regular grocery store (good ol’ Cub Foods) in the spice section.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: paleo strawberry rhubarb crisp, strawberry rhubarb crisp, healthy strawberry rhubarb crisp
Are you paleo? Would you ever make something paleo, just because you’re food-curious like me? Speak your food truth, friends.
And on a completely unrelated note, we have a winner for the Tasty Food Photography ebook and food photography prop kit giveaway! Entry #773, Pat S, it’s your lucky day! You have an email waiting for you.