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Rhubarb & Strawberry Cobbler

Posted on July 28, 2020July 28, 2020 by flavourie

A what? You might ask! Cobbler is better known in some parts of the UK but most popular in the US. They are distinct from a Crumble in the way the topping is put together, but essential Cobblers are a fruit base with a topping that is part biscuit, part crumble and part batter.

That probably isn’t helping you construct an image in your head, but what I can tell you is that they are universally lovelier than a crumble because of the copious amounts of butter!

It’s late summer, and that means late season rhubarb and the last of the summer strawberries: two flavours I absolutely adore together. And at this time of the year, Rhubarb has enjoyed a long, slow growing period and is blushing red right now after soaking up all that sunshine. If your rhubarb patch has been kept well-watered, they will be succulent too and not at all woody.

If you’ve been following my #GIY adventures over on my Instagram page, you’ll see I’ve been reveling in more time spent in the garden this year, and all that focused time means I am being treated to the most wonderful season of homegrown fruits and veggies. In fact, this year will be the first year I harvested from my rhubarb plant. After several years of neglect, a relocation to a larger pot, new soil and plenty of organic feed and water has reaped benefits. Knowing when to pick is always a matter of timing, so when I decided it was time to clip mine, coincided with the last of my delicious strawberries being harvested too! And Cobbler was on my mind!

My other favourite Cobbler combo is also another great seasonal pairing: Peach and Raspberry, for mid summer, or Peach and Blueberry for late summer. The point is, like a crumble, a Cobbler can be any mix of seasonal fruits you wish (apple and brambleberry, anyone?), so go with whatever you fancy!

Ingredients:

4 stalks of blushing red rhubarb, cut into 2 cm pieces
250 g of strawberries, hulled and halved
Dash of water
250 g all purpose white flour
1 tsp baking powder
250 g light Demerara sugar
1 medium egg
115 g butter, melted
Whipped cream or ice cream to serve.

Method:

Heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, fan.
Into a deep sauce pan, add rhubarb and dash of water. Cook over a medium heat until the rhubarb starts to break down a little – about 5 minutes. Add the strawberries to the rhubarb and stir gently to combine, cook for 1 minute, take the pan off the heat and set aside.
Into a bowl place the flour, baking powder, sugar and egg. Mix together using your hand until everything comes together in a crumbly texture.
Place the fruits into a deep baking dish and scatter the crumbly mix over the top.
Melt the butter and drizzle all over the crumble mixture. Place immediately in the oven and bake for 40 minutes until crisp on top and the fruit is bubbling underneath.
Serve hot from the oven and topped with some lightly whipped cream, or good quality vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy…!

Rhubarb & Orange Crumble

Posted on April 23, 2018April 16, 2020 by flavourie

Who doesn’t love a crumble? Is it one of the most comforting and versatile of all puddings. But whatever about the fruit, it is getting a good crumble topping that can make it or break it. No one, and I mean no one, wants a soggy crumble. Likewise, if it’s likely to knock out half your teeth, that’s no good either! A crunchy butter granolary (not even a word) texture is what I would consider a total winner.

First the fruit then the crumble.

I find that cooking up the fruit first, then topping with your freshly baked crumble is the perfect way to get the balance of soft fruit and buttery crunch that is the epitomy of perfect crumble-faction (again, not even a word, but I don’t even care anymore!)

Finally, let us talk custard. My love of custard knows no bounds (as my love letter to it recently revealed – click here to read that one). And as much as I love a bit of whipped or clotted cream as the next person, if anyone deigns put anything other than custard with this crumble recipe, in the immortal words of Liam Neeson, I will hunt you down and kill you.

Aside from these few unbreakable and non-negotiable rules (ha!), let crumble (with custard..) be thy saviour. You totally deserve it!

Ingredients:

For the Fruit:

Frankly, I would say that the quantity of ingredients for the fruit base is entirely up to you. Because once you’ve had your fill of fruit and crumble, this will go just as nice over ice cream or with yogurt, over pancakes and all sorts of things. As a basic ratio though, I would say 1 bunch of rhubarb to 2 orange. Ideally blood orange, but if you are making this once that season is over then go for the sweetest orange you can get.

For the Crumble Topping:

You’re gonna love me, because this makes absolutely bucketloads of crumble topping. This is good news because it means you can totally indulge as a pud, plus it actually is delicious for breakfast (weekend breakfast, because it is a tad indulgent!), over yogurt or sprinkled over sliced banana (with custard – OMG!). Just keep it stored in an air tight container after it has completely cooled and it will stay perfectly crunchy!

150g plain flour
100g butter – super chilled
85g dark soft sugar
handful of nuts: pecans and sliced almonds work a treat here
sprinkle of cinnamon

Method:

Heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Use a processor blitz together the flour, butter and sugar to a fine breadcrumb consistency.
Tip out onto a lined baking tray and crumble in your pecans and almonds (or whatever nuts you have to hand).
Then take some of the crumble topping mixture and press clumps of it together. The butter will bind it together. Work through until it looks like the kind of texture you think would be fairly feckin’ awesome.
Place the crumble mixture in the fridge. This is for the butter to firm back up again so when you bake it, the nuggets don’t lose their shape.
Meanwhile, chop the rhubarb into 5cm portions and place in a pan with the zest of 1 orange, juice of two, a 1 tbsp. sugar and a little drop of vanilla paste (if you have it).
Cover with a lid and cook down slowly until completely stewed down.
Uncover and continue to cook until some of the excess moisture has evaporated off.
Take out your crumble mixture from the fridge and pop it in the oven. Cook for about 20 mins watching closely so it doesn’t burn.
Take out of the oven and turn the mixture careful not to break it down. Place back in the oven for a further 10 mins, but again keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
In a bowl, ladle out some of the fruit mixture and top with your crumble mixture. Dollop some custard over it, settle down and enjoy every last mouthful!

Of course it goes without saying that this crumble topping works well with any stewed fruit so its great for the changing fruit seasons. Likewise, experiment with flavours that go with rhubarb – a little bit of stem ginger for example would add a nice bit of sweet heat to everything!

ENJOY!

Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote

Posted on March 20, 2015April 17, 2020 by flavourie

As a child, I was lucky enough to grow up in a household where we made the best possible use of our garden. This included quite a large fruit and vegetable garden that was about 50ft long by the width and a little bit more of our 1950’s end of terrace house. This meant that all year round we had access to fresh and seasonal fruit and veg.

My sister and I were taught how to know when things were ripe for picking – a cunning way to deploy child labour. We learned early on what it meant to have a “glut” of something and also that this meant learning to be very creative to disguise the fact that we were having different versions of the same thing every day!

One such fruit that we always had a ridiculous glut of was gooseberries. Or, if you are blessed with a Bristolian accent like me, Guzbrizz. Small, round, green, hairy and tart. I feckin loathed them by the time I moved out of our family home. Never really touched a gooseberry since; except for recently when, as part of my #foodieproject2014* I find myself searching everywhere for green gooseberries. They have fallen a tad out of fashion apparently, and so this is why they are difficult to come by, unless of course you grow your own. But I had to get some because I also had spotted a load of wild growing Elderflower and in the spirit of keeping going with my #foodproject2014 I had to make Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote and defeat was not an option!

Cue panic buying gooseberries in the one place I could find them locally followed by a spot of ditch climbing and tree jostling to be able to harvest the Elderflower. Having just the right amount of both in my possession I made the compote. Quite a lot of it as it turns out and, contrary to my childhood memories, actually really quite delicious! It was clear I was going to have to think about what I could do with it all! So below is the very very easy recipe for Green Gooseberry and Elderflower Compote (courtesy of “The Festive Food of Ireland”, by Darina Allen) and some suggestions below for what to do with it all once you’ve made it – all delicious options!

Ingredients:
900g / 2lb green gooseberries, topped and tailed and washed.
3 Elderflower heads (decent size).
450g / 1lb white granulated sugar
575ml / 1pint of cold water
Method:
Put the elderflower head in a stainless steel pan, add the sugar and cover with water.
Bring slowly to the boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes.
Add the gooseberries and simmer just until the fruit bursts.
Remove the Elderflower heads.
Either decant into sterilised jars or set aside to cool for use straight away in any of the following ways.

Cakes
Mix the compote with whipped cream and use as an alternative filling in a sponge cake.
Fool
Mix the compote with lightly whipped cream and vanilla custard.
Decant into a serving glass / bowl and grate good quality white chocolate over the top (I suggest Green & Blacks)
Mess
Mix the compote with whipped cream, a little vanilla bean paste and crushed meringue nests.
Serve with a dusting of crushed ginger nut biscuits over the top.
Pavlova Topping
Use the compote mixed in with whipped cream, icing sugar and a little vanilla bean paste and spread over the top of a cooked meringue. Reserve a little of the compote to dot on the top of the whipped cream mixture.
Crumble Filling
Decant the compote filling into either one large pie dish or several smaller ramekins.
Make a crumble topping using oats and chopped pecan nuts mixed with a little ground ginger, muscovado sugar and some unsalted butter. Drizzle maple syrup over the top.
Bake in the oven until the fruit is piping hot and the topping is toasted and golden brown.
As an Accompaniement to Oily Fish
The sweet tartness of the gooseberries will cut through the rich oilyness of fish such as Mackerel and Herring.
It would also be a great accompaniement with fresh poached River / Rainbow Trout, served hot or cold.
Serve the compote cold with these dishes.

*#foodieproject2014 is my attempt at cooking my way through a book of Irish traditional dishes and their link to the seasons and festivals in Ireland. It is a book I picked up a couple of years ago from a second hand bookshop in Clonakilty. I’m about a third of the way through it and this recipe above is actually in relation to May Day but is delayed due to the fact that the gooseberries were not available to buy anywhere until now!

Rhubarb & Strawberry Cobbler

Kate Ryan