Rhubarb is one versatile vegetable. The thick, crisp, slightly acidic stalks can be used in a slew of dishes, savory or sweet, but one of the more traditional recipes in which you’ll find it is your basic strawberry-rhubarb crumble, which, incidentally, is probably the easiest to make.

The crumble portion on top is a glorified streusel–but thicker and a bit more crunchy, almost like a cookie. Underneath is a soft, syrupy layer of sweet in-season fruits and our star vegetable, rhubarb. Always, always serve your strawberry-rhubarb crumble straight out of the oven and preferably with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For the crumble, you’ll need 1 stick butter, 1 1/3 cups flour, 3 tablespoons white sugar, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir together all the dry ingredients in one bowl; set aside. Melt the butter, stir in the vanilla, and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix until you have quarter- to dime-sized pieces. Store the crumble in the fridge until you need it.

For the base layer, all you need to do is toss together 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, 1 cup strawberries, a few tablespoons lemon or orange juice, 1/2 cup white sugar, and 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch.

Pour the strawberry-rhubarb mixture into an 8-inch by 8-inch pan, cover it with an even layer of the crumble, and bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

As a sidenote, this dessert may not photograph well, but it is by far the best I’ve had in a long time.