Rhubarb & Strawberry Cobbler

By request, my recipe for rhubarb & strawberry cobbler.  This is adapted from Delia Smith's recipe for gooseberry cobbler.

Note 1: depending where you live, rhubarb may be hard to find (it is in San Diego).  I've had good luck finding frozen rhubarb in health food stores such as Whole Foods.  Bristol Farms and some other supermarkets sometimes carry it also but the frozen stuff is actually often cheaper.

Note 2: If you buy fresh rhubarb you will probably only be buying the stem, but just in case you get whole leaves, remember the leaf part is actually poisonous; only eat the red stems.

Rhubarb & strawberry cobbler

Filling

1 lb of rhubarb stems, chopped into short (about 1-2cm) sections.
1 cup (roughly) strawberries.  Frozen strawberries are just fine.
4 oz (1 cup) sugar

Instructions

• If the fruit is frozen, allow it to thaw (or microwave briefly).  Drain off any extra liquid, then sprinkle with about 2/3 of the sugar.
• If the fruit is fresh, sprinkle with about 2/3 of the sugar.
• Allow the fruit to sit for about half an hour in the sugar, this will extract some of the water from the rhubarb.  After about half an hour, pour off the excess water.  Add the rest of the sugar.
• You can cook this either as one big dish, using a medium size bowl or a cake pan, or cook individual servings using small bowls/ramekins/etc.  Divide up the fruit into whichever containers you prefer.  Only fill the serving dish(es) about half full of fruit, remember to leave room for the topping.

Topping

8 oz (just under 2 cups) plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
4 oz (1 stick) salted butter
6 oz buttermilk - or use 6 oz regular milk and add 3 tbs lemon juice, mixed in.
2 tsp brown sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C).
• Soften butter in microwave until it's very soft, then mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.  You can do this by hand or in a blender; it will end up looking like thick breadcrumbs.  When it's mostly mixed, add the buttermilk (or sour milk) and mix briefly with a spoon until you have a thick, sticky dough.  
• Spoon the topping over the rhubarb and strawberry mixture. It will look lumpy and uneven, this is how it's supposed to look.  Sprinkle the top with a little brown sugar.  If you are using individual serving bowls, place them on a baking sheet or tray to bake as some liquid is likely to bubble over while cooking.

Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the top is starting to brown and sticking a knife or toothpick into the topping shows it's cooked all through.  Allow it to cool for 5 minutes or so, then serve warm, with ice cream.

(You can substitute pretty much any fruit for the rhubarb and strawberry, just adjust the amount of sugar depending on the fruit used.)