Rhubarb crumb bars

Rhubarb is a bit of a contradiction. It’s a vegetable that we use like a fruit. It’s so tart it’s puckery, but we add so much sugar or other sweetener that it tastes sweet. And it’s supremely edible, but its leaves are poisonous.

Rhubarb is about to come into season, so look for crisp red stalks in supermarkets and farmers markets. If you can’t find fresh, pick up a bag of frozen rhubarb at the supermarket.

This recipe and accompanying photo are from the May issue of Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart magazine. The article notes that rhubarb pairs well with apples, pears, berries, sugar, honey, ginger, fresh cheeses, yogurt, vanilla, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, ham, duck, trout, salmon and arctic char. And speaking of berries, strawberries are a natural pairing. When making this recipe, you can replace half the rhubarb with an equal weight of quartered berries.

RHUBARB CRUMB BARS

Yield: 16 servings

For the streusel:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the cake:
1/2 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter and flour parchment and pan, tapping out excess flour.

2. Make streusel: Whisk together melted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add 1 cup flour and mix with a fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Make cake: In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1/4 cup flour. In another medium bowl, whisk remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with rhubarb and top with streusel.

4. Bake cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake from pan. Cut into 16 bars.

Per bar: 216 calories; 10.8g fat; 6.5g sat. fat; 2.6g protein; 28.1g carb.; 0.68g fiber.