Sherried rhubarb crumble - only for grown ups!

As most of you know, we grow rhubarb in our garden.  It all started with the one plant - called Ruby - who grew so much we had to split her in half and so she spawned her daughter, RubyTwo.  Well, the years have gone past and the pair of them are now busting out of the brick planters they are in and three times a year (or more) threaten world domination unless we harvest them and share them around the neighbours.  So, as you can imagine, obtaining rhubarb isn't exactly a challenge.  In fact, for this recipe, hubby went out and cut the 500g required and it was in the oven half an hour later. Can't get a lot fresher than that!

With this crumble, I wanted very much to just celebrate the joy that is rhubarb.  Not dilute it with apple, or confuse matters by adding blackberries.  No, I wanted it to be simply rhubarb.  Our rhubarb is so tasty - it's a champagne variety - that I always think it's a shame to mask its deliciousness with other flavours.

However, that didn't stop me from having a rush of blood to the head and adding sherry.  *chuckle*  Well, I figured that as we've had a rhubarb trifle with sherry in the past - which was delicious, why not?  I used a medium sherry - Harvey's Bristol Cream, in fact.  It definitely lent the dish a certain something and I'd definitely do that again.

What did it taste like?  Oh, it was beautiful.  Sweet, sharp, deep rich flavours of rhubarb with the slight headiness of sherry, balanced against the buttery, oaty, slightly toffee flavoured crumble that just melted in the mouth. Heavenly. Especially with vanilla custard, which is just the perfect accompaniment.

I have two Cook's Tips for you, which are as follows :

Lots of crumble recipes tell you to pre-cook the fruit, but I didn't want rhubarb slush, I wanted pieces of rhubarb that still had their shape and a little of the crunch.  Cutting the pieces slightly smaller than usual, managed to achieve that very nicely across the 30 minute cooking time.   If however, you prefer your rhubarb to be softer then make sure to cook it on for another 10 minutes or so.

I'm sure we've all made fruit crumbles that wind up being all juice.  For me, too much juice can almost ruin a crumble as it tends to steam the underside of the crumble top and you end up with a yukky sludgy uncooked layer and the fruit swimming in juice.  To offset this, I mixed in some cornflour (or perhaps corn starch where you are) with the raw fruit and sugar, which has the effect of thickening the juice and so preventing both the sludge and the pool.  You don't even notice it's there, so it's a sneaky tip to remember for fruit pies, too!

Maybe the very next time you lay your hands on some rhubarb, you can give this crumble a go.  Your family will thank you!

SHERRIED RHUBARB CRUMBLE    (serves 4-5)

Ingredients :

500g rhubarb, washed, dried and cut into 1cm pieces
100g caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
3-4 tbsp of medium sweet sherry.

For the crumble :

130g self raising flour
50g light brown muscovado sugar
30g rolled porridge oats
90g slightly salted, chilled butter.

Method :

Pre-heat your oven to 190degC/375degF/Gas 5.

Place the chopped rhubarb into a deep sided casserole or baking dish. Sprinkle over the caster sugar and cornflour and mix together thoroughly until each piece of rhubarb is coated.

Sprinkle the sherry over the rhubarb and set aside while you make the crumble.

Weigh the self raising flour, muscovado sugar and porridge oats into a large bowl and lightly stir together.

Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the dry ingredients until everything is buttery and breadcrumb-like.

Spread the crumble across the top of the fruit mix and level the surface without pressing down or compacting the crumble at all.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or 40 minutes if you like your fruit softer.

Serve with vanilla custard, or double cream if you must.  *wink*

Printable version

Rhubarb & Mango Crumble : a Twitter-crumble!

When my parents came over for lunch last weekend, we picked a whole heap of rhubarb for them to take away with them - and, of course, forgot to give it to them.

So, I've had four or five big sticks of rhubarb getting right in the way in my fridge ever since.  My intention has been to find some use for them, be it a crumble, or maybe the fruit layer of a sponge for dessert, or perhaps a fool.

Indecision and lack of time resulted in their still being in the fridge by the following weekend - where they'd been joined by a mango which was rock-hard when it was delivered, but has since ripened on a sunny window ledge and been put in the fridge to chill down.  I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with that, either.

Bank Holiday Monday appeared and they were still glowering at me from the fridge.  I knew that I hadn't got many more days before they both expired, all unloved and apparently unwanted, and couldn't let that happen.


So, while I was trying to concentrate on writing out a shopping list, they were on my mind.  So much so, I paused my shopping list writing to enquire of the Twitterverse whether anyone thought that rhubarb & mango would go well together, particularly in a crumble?


There came back an emphatic "yes" from three Tweeps, @madamding, @willipmrpip and @stovemonster who all pronounced themselves hugely interested in the end result.  So, this crumble is dedicated to them, as without their votes of confidence it might never have been made - which would have been a real pity!

Because of the way that rhubarb disintegrates when it is cooked, I opted not to pre-cook the fruit.  Hence, it was a bit of a juggling act with regard to the sugar content.  However, because the mango was extremely juicy (over-ripe, in fact) and consequently very sweet, I under-estimated the sugar - with perfect results.  The fruit kept it's shape (more or less) and the rhubarb and mango did a kind of sharp/sweet tango on your tongue.  With the lovely oaty, buttery crumble on top (which could have been more crumbly, but the butter was rock hard and my fingers had frozen to death by then, so rubbing it in was difficult), it was a completely delicious thing to make.


RHUBARB & MANGO CRUMBLE (serves 4)


Ingredients :


3-4 large sticks of rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces
a large mango, skinned and diced
2-3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp porridge oats
2 tbsp granulated sugar
30-40g butter, cut into small dice.


Method :


1.  Place the cut rhubarb and mango dice into a baking dish.  Sprinkle with the granulated sugar and mix to combine.


2.  In a separate bowl, add all the crumble ingredients and rub the butter in to the flour and oats, until the whole resembles breadcrumbs.


3.  Sprinkle the crumble mixture onto the fruit, taking care not to pat it down at all.  Let it just rest there, and it will stay light in texture.


4.  Bake in a moderate oven (180deg C) for around 35-45 minutes or until the crumble is toasty brown on top.  I stopped mine a little early, as the juice was threatening to overwhelm the crumble.


Serve with double cream.


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Ottolenghi's Fennel, Cherry Tomato & Crumble Gratin

All cooked and gloriously lovely

"Ottolenghi" seems to be taking up pole position for the word which gets bandied about in conversations the most here, at the moment.

You know how some styles of cuisine just hit you right between the eyes as being just beyond brilliant and totally in accord with the way you'd like to be able to cook?  Well that's Ottolenghi for me.

I had spotted this recipe when I first browsed through "The Cookbook" as it seemed a) achievable financially and b) achievable where the cooking was concerned.  I have to be careful which recipes I choose, as I just don't have the stamina in my legs for recipes that have you galloping all over the kitchen for hours.  Hence, I particularly like recipes that demand input at the beginning, then you get a rest while they're in the oven, with a final burst of activity prior to plating up - which hubby gets to do, while I give my back a rest and compose myself.  Otherwise I'm just too stressed, what with the pain, finishing the dish and making sure the plating up happens neatly, to eat comfortably.

Aaaanyway, all that aside, this is by far and away the most delicious fennel dish I have ever had the good fortune to encounter.  The juxtaposition of the savoury fennel with its creaminess and hints of garlic and thyme, set against the sweet but cheesy crumble, is just amazing.  Hubby really really liked this dish and would be very happy to see it appear on the menu list again really quite soon.  Son was rather less committed to it, but then he doesn't like cooked tomatoes, which were integral to the character of the dish.  However, to give him his due, he did eat it all - which says quite a bit about it's acceptability.

Halfway through cooking : just added crumble and tomatoes

I have tweaked the recipe's quantities, as the original recipe was designed to feed 6.  Also, the fennel bulbs we managed to find didn't, unfortunately, have any of their fluffy fennel tops left on or I would have sprinkled a little of that, chopped, onto the top of the gratin instead of parsley, before serving.

FENNEL, CHERRY TOMATO & CRUMBLE GRATIN (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

2 Fennel bulbs, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves

2 garlic cloves, crushed

coarse sea salt

black pepper
200ml double cream

enough crumble to cover

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

150g cherry tomatoes – on the vine if possible

1 tsp chopped parsley to garnish

Method :

1.  Preheat oven to 200degC/Gas mark 6.   Trim off the fennel stalks and cut each bulb lengthways in half.  Cut each half into slices.  Place in a large bowl with the olive oil, thyme leaves, garlic, salt & pepper and toss together.

2.  Transfer to an ovenproof dish and pour the cream over the fennel.

3.  Mix the crumble with the grated parmesan and scatter evenly on top.

4.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove the foil and arrange the tomatoes on top.  Scatter a few fresh thyme springs on top and return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.

5.  Fennel should feel soft when poked with a knife & gratin should have a golden colour.

6.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes then sprinkle with chopped parsley prior to serving.