Rhubarb crumble – scrumptious, simple to make and in-season now, treat yourself – it works strangely well with chocolate ice-cream.
This time last year almost exactly to the day I posted a Rhubarb Crumble recipe but when I went to make it myself last weekend I didn’t have exactly the same ingredients and decided to just work with what I had to produce an equally good variation of rhubarb crumble. The topping consists of butter worked into flour and porridge oats and then sweetened up with sugar. The type of flour and proportion of flour to porridge oats is entirely up to you. You can also healthy up your crumble with the addition of some crushed nuts or seeds.
I picked up the organically grown rhubarb at Schull Farmer’s Market last weekend but I know that locally grown rhubarb is readily available in most Irish supermarkets too at this time of year. Speaking of markets there is a massive farmer’s and country market taking place on Sunday 15th April as part of Waterford Festival of Food
In other food news I’ll be signing and doing a demo of some recipes from ‘Gimme the Recipe’ this Saturday 14th April in Moycullen, Galway – for more information see the gimmetherecipe facebook page
But for now I leave you with a ramekin of rhubarb crumble just begging for a dousing of custard or a blob of fresh cream.
Rhubarb Crumble
You will need:
100g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
100g porridge oats
200g brown sugar
5 large stalks of rhubarb
50g brown sugar (for cooking the fruit)
Method:
Preheat the fan oven to 170C /Gas Mark 5
Rinse and chop the rhubarb stalks into 1 cm width chunks and cook in a saucepan with a splash of water and the 50g brown sugar over a medium to high heat until softening (still bitey and not a pulp). Takes about 5 minutes.
Put the flour and oats in a mixing bowl and chop in the butter.
Use your finger tips to crumble the flour and butter together until it’s starting to resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the 200g brown sugar and mix well with a fork.
Place the softened rhubarb in a baking dish and scatter the crumble mixture on top, press it down lightly but don’t over compact it.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila
Tag: Rhubarb Crumble
Rhubarb crumble
Like spring daffodils the first of the Rhubarb is rampant at the moment. With bunches on display just inside the door of the supermarket and selling at 1 euro it’s impossible to ignore. Simple to prepare and cook, my mom used to stew up vast potfuls of stewed rhubarb laced with sugar and relished under a smothering of custard. Stew it, make it into jam, stuff it in a pie or bake it in a crumble, whatever you choose to do with it be sure to give it a good lashing of sugar.
Pictured above is one of my latest foodie finds that I used in the crumble mix – Macroom Oatmeal. As you can see it’s rendered very fine so I’m looking forward to having it for breakfast with a good blob of stewed rhubarb on top. But for now, on to the crumble recipe.
You will need:
100g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
50g porridge oats (I used Macroom Oatmeal)
200g brown sugar
5 large stalks of rhubarb
50g caster sugar (for cooking the fruit)
Method:
Preheat the fan oven to 170C /Gas Mark 5
Rinse and chop the rhubarb into 1 cm width chunks and cook in a saucepan with a splash of water and the caster sugar over a medium to high heat until softening (still bitey and not a pulp). Takes about 5 minutes.
Put the flour and oats in a mixing bowl and chop in the butter.
Use your finger tips to crumble the flour and butter together until it’s starting to resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the brown sugar and mix well with a fork.
Place the softened rhubarb in a baking dish and scatter the crumble mixture on top, press it down lightly but don’t over compact it.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Rhubarb served with custard is a classic combination. Enjoy.
Til next time, Sheila
Note: If you don’t use a fan oven raise the temperature by 20 degrees.