neon pink
A few weeks ago, our allotment neighbour had a lovely harvest of forced rhubarb.
It looked so good that mr digandweed decided to follow suit and place a large, upturned pot over the emerging rhubarb shoots on our plot.
It looked so good that mr digandweed decided to follow suit and place a large, upturned pot over the emerging rhubarb shoots on our plot.
The result - tall, bright neon pink shoots of delicate rhubarb.
What to make with such a prettily coloured delicacy?
The answer - a variation on rhubarb crumble -
inspired by a recipe from Mary Berry's latest series, Mary Berry Cooks.
As an antidote to everything that is harsh and cruel, these programmes are a real treat; genteel and thoroughly nice, with recipes that are accessible to all ( and with a slight nod to the seventies!)
Mary's recipe for apple crumble can be found here. I used the rhubarb instead of apple and substituted roughly half the walnuts with pistachios simply because that was what was in the cupboard.
As a variation on the usual crumble mix it was delicious.
Mary says that cooking the crumble separately means it stays crunchy, which is true, although, I do admit to rather liking the sticky, gooey amalgamation of fruit and crumble which happens around the edge when fruit and topping are cooked together.
The crunchy crumble mixture would also make a scrummy, breakfast granola type topping for yoghurt and fruit.
I've been trying to get the ratio of crumble ingredients right for years and recently - finally - found that equal parts of flour, oats, sugar and butter is what works best for me. Most of the recipes I find have just too much sugar for my taste. And I never add sugar to the fruit. But this does look good, I must say.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting way to make crumble, that sounds worth a try, although like you I'm rather fond of that gooey layer between the fruit and crumble. Now must go and check if I have enough rhubarb to pick...
ReplyDeleteMmmm I saw that episode and thought it was a nice idea for an alternative crumble - looks scrummy!! xxx
ReplyDeleteThat looks lovely! We've got rhubarb which I cooked and froze... I'm making rhubarb cake this afternoon :)
ReplyDeleteIt's also nice layered with whipped cream and lemon zest, and crumbled ginger biscuits.
Rhubarb is lovely to look at and eat - one of my absolute favourites. Hope you enjoy eating your crop!
Sarah
Looks fabulous! Any recipe by Mary Berry is fine by me.
ReplyDeleteI love rhubarb with a passion! I am revelling in spring produce; fennel, spinach, peas, strawberries, watercress;.. and rhubarb too which I saw the first time in the market today.
ReplyDeleteCrumble is delicious, yes, and I love making rhubarb fool with orange zest and ginger. My mouth is watering just at the thought of it!
Happy spring to you :-)
Stephanie
Ooh, looks delish. I watched the programme in which Mary demonstrated that method of making crumble topping. I do like crunch. But, like you, I love the crumble goo, too.
ReplyDeleteYour rhubarb looks beautiful. I've never tried forcing any - although my plant is so pathetic, forcing might be the end of it. The crumble looks really good too, and I like the idea of crumble topping for breakfast.
ReplyDelete