• Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly butter the sides and bottom of the baking dish.

Crumble Topping

• Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place it back in the refrigerator so it stays cold while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and toss the butter into the flour mixture with your hands until all the butter is well coated.
• Use the pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture, until the butter is pea sized. You can also you use your hands if you don’t have a pastry blender. To mix it with your hands take each piece of butter and smash it flat between your index finger and thumb. Continue to do this until the butter is pea sized. Add the chopped almonds and use a spoon or your hands to toss into the mixture until they are well distributed.
• Place the crumble in the refrigerator to keep it cold until ready to use. The crumble can be made up to one week in advance and stored in an airtight container.

Strawberry Filling

• Taste the strawberries before adding the additional ingredients. If the berries are sweet, 3/4 cup of sugar should be enough. If they are a little tart, start with the 3/4 cup, taste the berries after all the other ingredients are added and add additional sugar 1 tablespoon at a time to taste.
• Whisk together the tapioca, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
• Wash the strawberries by spraying them with water in a colander. Do not submerge the berries as strawberries can absorb a lot of water when submerged. Place them on a baking sheet or board lined with paper towels and dry off the berries. Cut off the green stem (this step is called hulling) and cut each berry in half. If the strawberries are large, i.e., 2-inches in length cut them into quarters.
• Place the berries in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and vanilla bean paste and use a silicone spatula to toss the ingredients together. Sprinkle the tapioca-sugar mixture over the strawberries and fold the dry ingredients into the berries until there are no white flecks left. Let the strawberries sit for 5 minutes and then taste them. If the berries aren’t sweet enough add 2 more tablespoons of sugar and taste again.
• Let the strawberries sit for 5 minutes and then taste them. If the berries aren’t sweet enough add 2 more tablespoons of sugar and taste again. I recommend not adding more than 4 tablespoons of additional sugar because you want the fruit to be slightly tart.
• Let the strawberries sit for another 5 minutes to let the sugar and tapioca finish dissolving. Spoon the strawberries into the prepared baking dish and use the back of the spoon to make an even layer. Spread the crumble over the berries by taking a small handful of the crumble, squeezing it together then breaking it into small chunks over the berries. Do this step until most or all the crumble is used up. Leave the edges exposed so you can see the strawberry juices bubbling up as they crumble bakes.

Bake the Strawberry Crumble

• Bake the strawberry crumble for 30-35 minutes until you see the strawberry juices bubbling up all the way around the baking dish and the crumble is lightly browned.
• Remove the crumble from the oven, set it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes to allow the juices to set up. It will still be warm.
• Serve it plain, or with fresh strawberries, or with vanilla ice cream with some of the strawberry juices from the pan spooned over the top.

Storing the Crumble

• The crumble can be stored at room temperature for 1 day unless it is very warm in your house (over 75 degrees F). In that case I recommend storing it in the refrigerator at the end of day covered with plastic wrap. The crumble is good in the refrigerator for up to 4 days stored in an airtight container.