Classic Rhubarb Crumble
One of the most traditional British desserts of all time… RHUBARB CRUMBLE. Are you even British (or northern) if you haven’t had a rhubarb crumble? It’s up there with jam roly poly, sticky toffee pudding and bread and butter pudding. Visiting the Rhubarb triangle in Yorkshire is on my travel to-do list. Omg, should I do a UK based dessert series?! I mean I did drive all the way to Bakewell from London just for a Bakewell pudding. Sorry, I’m deviating and getting distracted by pudding talk. Moving on.
With the cost of food rising and everyone wanting a save a bit of money, I’ve been trying to create more recipes that use seasonal veg. The benefit of using veg that’s in season is that it’s usually cheaper as theres more of it, it hasn’t travelled as far and it typically tastes better and fresher. You could even grow it yourself if you’ve got a lil veg patch going on. I’m currently growing my own potatoes and it’s legit so exciting, would you believe I’m still in my 20s? Might need a night out so I can appear cool again.
Anywayyyy, this recipe is a love letter to FORCED rhubarb, a rhubarb that is actually grown in the dark and picked by candlelight in the UK for a pinker, sweeter, less acidic and less in your face rhubarb. It also has a vivid red colour that will really make this dessert pop and make it very Instagrammable (if you’re one of those who can’t eat with taking a little piccy first). These beauties are in season from Jan-March, compared to your regular rhubarb that’s in season from April to July. If you haven’t cooked with forced rhubarb yet, give it a go.
Ingredients
- 800-1000g of forced rhubarb
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp grenadine
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- For the crumble:
- 100g plain flour
- 50g oats
- 100g cold cubed butter
- 90g demerara sugar
Method
- In a bowl add the flour, sugar and oats.
- Rub in the cold butter until you have a chunky breadcrumb texture.
- Wash and chop the rhubarb into roughly 1 inch long pieces.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
- In a large saucepan, add two thirds of the rhubarb, the sugar and the grenadine. Then cook on a medium high for 7-10 minutes, until the rhubard begins to soften.
- Add the remaining rhubarb and cook for a further 5 minutes. So the fresh rhubarb is just softened. If the mixture is too wet, drain it through a sieve. Also, make sure you taste it at this point so you can adjust the sweetness if required.
- Transfer into an oven dish and top with your crumble. Get it in the oven!
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden on top and bubbling around the edges. Serve with custard, ice cream, cream or all of the above!