Rhubarb crumble

Rhubarb and orange is basically a dream combination so I’ve combined them in this recipe. I came up with it when I was trying to find a way to bring out the flavours of rhubarb without adding too much sugar. The topping uses demerara sugar which gives you a good crunch but you can use caster if you don’t have anything else in.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-5 sticks of rhubarb (about 500g)
2 tbsp water
4 tbsp caster sugar
Zest of 1/2 orange
100g softened butter
100g demerara sugar
150g flour

Kitchen stuff

Pie dish

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.

Cut the rhubarb into 7½cm/3in long sticks (if the width varies then cut the fat ones slightly shorter so it cooks evenly). Place on an oven tray, sprinkle with the water and caster sugar and roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes mixing a bit halfway through until just starting to go soft. If you're not sure, check the water, it will start to look ever so slightly pink.

Once cooked, remove from the oven, grate over the orange zest.

Using tongs pick out the pieces of rhubarb and put in an ovenproof dish about 4cm/1½in deep or use an enamel 22cm pie dish. Don’t pour in the extra liquor, save it for a recipe below…

Rub the butter into the flour then stir in the sugar to make the crumble topping. Sprinkle  liberally over the rhubarb and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is crisp and golden-brown and the rhubarb filling has softened and is bubbling. NB. You might want to put a tray underneath incase the rhubarb juice spills over the sides - it’s a nightmare to get off an oven.

Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving (custard optional).

For a tasty drink using the leftover syrup: Pour the liquid from cooking the rhubarb into a glass and mix with some good quality lemonade and ice for a refreshing drink. This will store in the fridge for a week or so if you don’t have any to hand straight away.