Fruity Rhubarb and Almond Crumble
This easy three-step crumble recipe is a winner at any time of the year, just vary the fruit according to the season
Introduction
A good crumble is hard to beat, the fruit soft and yielding, with a buttery, chewy topping. A warm embrace of a pudding.
Ingredients
| 600g (1lb 5oz) | forced rhubarb (see tip), trimmed and cut into 5cm (2in) chunks |
| 4 | plums or 300g (10½oz) other stone fruit (see tip), stoned and roughly chopped |
| 120g (4½oz) | golden caster sugar |
| grated zest of 1 lemon | |
| 100g (4oz) | plain flour |
| 75g (3oz) | unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing |
| 75g (3oz) | rolled oats |
| 50g (2oz) | flaked almonds |
| pinch of sea salt | |
| ice cream or natural yoghurt, to serve |
Method
Prep time: 10 minutes, plus cooling. Cook time: 35–40 minutes.
1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/180˚C fan/gas 6. Butter a medium sized baking dish, about 28 × 20cm (11 × 8in).
2. Combine the rhubarb with the plums/other stone fruit, half of the sugar, the lemon zest and three tablespoons of the flour. Transfer to the baking dish.
3. In a large bowl, rub the butter into the remaining flour until you have gravel-sized lumps. Mix in the oats, the remaining sugar, the flaked almonds and the salt. Scatter the crumble over the fruit and bake for 35–40 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then serve with ice cream or yoghurt.
Tips: Forced rhubarb is sweeter than outdoor-grown, so if you use garden or field rhubarb you will need to add another two to three tablespoons of sugar. You can use any stone fruit here in place of the plums (such as peaches, nectarines, apricots or cherries); apples and pears also work well with the rhubarb.
