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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Spicy chicken with Mango Salad

I should, really, be entitling this one "Spicy chicken with mango salad (providing your grocery delivery contains a ripe mango)".  However, let's assume that mine did - and I'll tell you about it anyway.

Sorry about the dappled light - it was a pleasant evening!

This is one of those "had it before, last summer, liked it, decided to have it again" dishes.  Except (there always is, isn't there?) there is a difference this time, in that because we now have a shiny new non-stick (and it IS non-stick) frying pan, I decided to pan fry the chicken.  Last time I cooked the chicken in the oven, which results in a bit of a different finish.  Still nice, but it doesn't have the lovely crunchy crust of garam masala and curry powder that the chicken breast develops while it is cooking in the pan.

I also found it a lot easier to decide when the chicken was "just" done, which left it lovely and moist.  With oven cooking, you're at the mercy of the cooking time given by the recipe and the vagaries of your own oven.  You can't keep on checking it, because every time you open the oven door you're letting all the lovely heat out and so the chicken slows down the cooking process.  More often than not, it results in a very slightly overcooked chicken.  With pan frying, it was perfect.

True honours must go to the lime and sour cream dip/accompaniment.  Now I love lime and will eat it raw given the chance, so I have a suspicion that I enjoyed it rather more than the chaps did.  In fact, son & heir wouldn't touch it following on from a taster on the end of a piece of naan bread.  Hubby used the prescribed amount to accompany his chicken and dress his salad and agreed that it went very well with both - and as a dip for the somewhat surplus to requirements naan bread that was recommended by the recipe.  As for me, I took the remainder of the naan bread and the lime dip and ate it later on when I was watching t.v., it was that nice!


As I say, I really don't know what the naan bread was supposed to bring to the dish and definitely wouldn't have it again.  If you're desperate to have some carbohydrate input into the dish, a potato salad or maybe potato wedges would have been nicer.

One point of difference between the photograph and the recipe is the way we dealt with our cucumber.  In order to save hubby's sore mouth (where he'd bitten himself the night before) we sliced the cucumbers far more thinly than prescribed.  I don't think it mattered, but you may have wondered why!


The dish received a mixed reception from the chaps, in that hubby thought the chicken was rather one-dimensional and wouldn't be rushing to have it again, although equally he wouldn't say no if we did.  Son & heir hated the lime dip (~sob~) but liked the chicken.  Personally, I liked all of it and would very happily have it again tomorrow.  So this leads me to think that perhaps it's something of a "girl's dish", rather than something that appeals to big rufty tufty chaps.


SPICY CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALAD (serves 3)


Ingredients :


3 skinless, boneless & trimmed of all fat, chicken breasts
a drizzle of olive oil
1-2 tbsp garam masala (depending on the size of the chicken)
1-2 tbsp madras curry powder (as above)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large ripe (ha!) mango
half a cucumber, pips removed and sliced into chunks diagonally
half a small red onion, sliced finely
a few Romaine lettuce leaves, shredded
a handful of fresh coriander leaves
4 tbsp sour cream
grated zest and juice of half a lime


Method :


1.  In a large plastic bag, add the chicken, the olive oil, garam masala, curry powder, salt and pepper.  Seal the bag and massage the mixture together until the chicken has been liberally coated.  Put to one side to briefly marinade.


2.  Mix the sour cream together with the lime zest and juice, season and mix thoroughly.
Put to one side in the fridge to stay cool.


3.  Heat a griddle or frying pan until hot.  Add the chicken and cook each side for 6-10 minutes over a low to moderate heat, allowing a crust to form.  Try not to flip from side to side, as it takes the contact between the pan and the chicken to really cook that crust.  You will find that the chicken becomes ever so slightly charred in places, which all adds to the flavour, but don't overdo it!


4.  While the chicken is cooking, prepare the salad by peeling and slicing the mango into thin wedges.  Place in a large bowl and add the cucumber pieces, lettuce, onion and coriander and toss together.  Season.


5.  To serve, pile the salad onto plates and slice each chicken breast into three.  Place with the salad and serve a dollop of the lime/sour cream mixture by the side.


Tuck in!


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Sweetbird Smoothies : another product review!

There’s going to be a little rush on product reviews, as the lovely people at Beyond the Bean sent us a job lot to try out!

The next yummy thing we sampled, were the new Smoothies from Sweetbird.

Unlike a lot of Smoothies out there, Sweetbird make theirs completely from fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the fruit.  There is no dairy involvement at all, which is nice if you’re dairy intolerant and also nice because it results in a gorgeously tangy smoothie.  Of course, it would also mean they are attractive to vegetarians and vegans alike.

I prefer to drink my smoothies at breakfast time, my son would have had a smoothie at any old time of day, but wound up using them as an after-school snack, which is something of which I approved wholeheartedly.  Seemed to me to be a great improvement on a packet of crisps.  Hubby, unfortunately, couldn’t cope with the sharpness and after a magnificent bout of face pulling, opted out of this taste testing.  So, from that, I’d say it’s probably best to just try one and see what you think!

By far and away the favourite of the bunch, for me, was the Blackcurrant and Apple.  I was intrigued to note the inclusion of Black Carrot juice and felt it would have been good to have included a black carrot in the fruit that was grouped together for the packaging pictures (which seemed a little bit dull, to me).  After all, there can’t be that many things that include Black carrot juice!

Son’s favourite was the Orange and Mango version (which isn’t surprising, considering the other version was a Pineapple and Passionfruit one – and we’ve already discovered he’s not that keen on Passionfruit!).  In truth, I’d have been as happy with one as with the other, as you could almost feel them doing you good as they went down.

At £1.79 per bottle, they aren’t the cheapest things in the world – especially when you’re counting the pennies.  However, if you have problems getting fruit into your children, or don’t enjoy chomping your way through several items of fruit in a day, then these little lovelies are your answer.  Of course, if money is no object, then I’d have one with breakfast every day, as I think they are a great way to wake up your tastebuds!

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