Rhubarb, Bramley Apple and Stem Ginger Crumble

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Best with a rhubarb, star anise and pink gin sorbet and clotted cream, as detailed in this recipe!
Seasonal and at it’s best - Rhubarb is the star of the show! There is something so delicious about the sourness of rhubarb that is complimented so well with sugar when stewed down to create a delicious filling for a crumble. Without the added sugar, rhubarb has is one of the lowest calorie vegetables available. The best time to experience all rhubarb has to offer is from March to June.

Ingredients

Crumble Filling:
75g butter
100g golden caster sugar
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped out
3 Bramley apples peeled and chopped
600g rhubarb cut into even chunks
100g stem ginger finely chopped (keep the syrup)

Crumble Topping:
200g plain flour
100g cold butter, diced
85g jumbo rolled oats
85g light brown soft sugar
100g pumpkin seeds

Sorbet:
700g rhubarb trimmed, rinsed and cut into 2cm long pieces
140g golden caster sugar
3 tbsp liquid glucose
1 vanilla pod
2 star anise
juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp Pink Gin
clotted cream
pinch of ground ginger

Method

Sorbet

1. Put the rhubarb in a saucepan and add the sugar, 75ml water and the liquid glucose. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add to the pan (with the pod) along with the star anise.

2. Place over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat slightly and cook for 15 mins until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit is soft and starting to break down. Remove from the heat and fish out the vanilla pod and star anise. Purée in a blender.

3. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, removing any remaining stringy bits of rhubarb. Transfer to a jug and stir in the lemon juice and pink gin.

4. Cover and put in the fridge until fully chilled before placing into the freezer. Every 30 minutes, remove from the freezer and use a fork to stir, breaking up any large lumps. Smooth out and return to freeze. Continue this until the mixture is completely frozen. Or churn in an ice cream machine!

Crumble

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. First, make the topping. In a bowl, rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the oats and sugar, and stir with a wooden spoon to form a coarse crumble.

2. Spread out the crumble in an even layer on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 15 mins until golden, with larger clusters of crumble formed. Once the mixture has cooled slightly, stir through the pumpkin seeds.

3. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, then add the sugar and vanilla, and give everything a good stir. Tip in the apple and cook for 5 mins, stirring constantly, until the apples have turned into a thick purée. Once the apples have broken down, add the rhubarb and stem ginger, including the syrup.

4. Stir well, then simmer for 5 minutes until the rhubarb has just begun to soften. Pour the filling into a bowl and leave to cool slightly.

5. Once ready to eat, divide the crumble filling into four to six individual pie dishes, or one larger dish if you prefer, then top with the crumble topping.

To Serve:

Spoon the clotted cream into a quenelle and place on top of the crumble next to a scoop of the sorbet. Sprinkle some ground ginger on top of the clotted cream.

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