Sandwiching sweet and tangy fruit in crisp oaty dough and baking until crisp makes a perfect snack for the summer, Alison Lambert writes.
Strawberry rhubarb bars
Makes 15-20 squares (depending on size)
1½ cup rolled oats
½ cup white flour
¼ cup wholemeal flour
½ cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar
pinch salt
100g butter, melted
1 tsp cornflour
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp light brown or coconut sugar
125g rhubarb, sliced into small bite-sized pieces
150g strawberries, hulled and cut in half
Method
Preheat oven to 180degC. Mix together the oats, flours, sugar and salt, pour in the melted butter and mix well. Remove a quarter of the mixture and set aside for topping.
Press the crumb mixture into the base of an approximately 20cm x 18cm x 4cm baking tray.
Combine the fruits in a bowl along with the orange juice, cornflour and 1 Tbsp of sugar. Mix gently to combine.
Spread evenly over the base, scatter over the remainder of the crumbs and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the fruit is oozing slightly from the crisp golden topping.
Cool before cutting.
I like to keep this in the fridge as it helps keep the slice crisp and makes it quite refreshing on a hot summer day!
• Alison Lambert is one of the demonstrators at the Otago Farmers Market in Dunedin on Saturday mornings. tasteofmylife.com
