The list of seasonal fruits and vegetables that are highly anticipated and enthusiastically discussed in our household are endless. We spend many an hour discussing what we are excited to make with certain ingredients throughout the year that when they finally show up in our farmers market we can hardly wait to get back home and bring all of those daydreams into reality.
A few weeks ago we found some beautiful first pick rhubarb at the market. The stalks were thick, a shiny dark red and I just knew that they would require very little to produce something amazing. But against my better judgment, after several months of anticipation I had my mind set on a rhubarb cake that I’d worked out in great detail and that’s what I was going the make, the end.
I truly wish I had been able to slow down for a moment or two to take a picture of this rhubarb because you really need to see it to understand the tragedy that followed. But alas, in that moment I couldn’t seem to find a second to pick up my camera and to tell you the truth I’m not great with process pictures. I was in the rhubarb cake zone and nothing was going to stop me. It’s taken me several weeks to get over this indecent enough to put these words down, and it’s not even the way the cake turned out that truly eats me inside, but the fact that I knew ( I KNEW!) this was not the rhubarb to use in such a high risk baking experiment.
Ugh, must everyday be a lesson in stubbornness for me?
Needless to say the cake didn’t turn out the way I had envisioned. It wasn’t that the cake itself was terrible, you know the kind that turns out more like a dense loaf of stale bread? No the cake base I used is a reliable and trusted friend, a sort of cross between a coffee cake and a loaf type batter with a lighter crumb, the failure was in the disappearing act that was the rhubarb component which Ive detailed in The Hunger Struck Graveyard album. Sigh. I guess they all can’t be winners.
There is something about keeping it simple. Lucky for me a few weeks later there was still some great rhubarb to be had. It wasn’t exactly as spectacular as those first stalks but it was completely acceptable. I was in the mood for something simple but satisfying and immediately thought about making a crumble. This was what I should have made to begin with, because it really gives the rhubarb a shot at being itself with out being completely masked by other strong personalities.
Sweet but still quite tart with the subtle sharpness of the ginger, makes this dish a perfect and uncomplicated way to enjoy the seasons first rhubarb.
Rhubarb Raspberry Ginger Crumble - Serves 2
This crumble is on the tart side, which is the way we like it around these parts. Should you prefer your rhubarb sweeter you may want to increase the brown sugar by 1/2 cup or so. I also used 2 16 oz square roasters/ramekins so these individual portions are on the large size and could easily be combined into one dish if family style is more your thing.
4 medium stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries, if using frozen don’t thaw
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
1 cup brown sugar, divided
freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
3/4 stick cold butter, plus one tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat your oven to 350 f.
In a medium sized bowl combine the rhubarb, raspberries, ginger, a little fresh grated nutmeg and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Toss to combine. Divide into 2 16oz ramekins and top each with the remaining butter.
For the crumble topping combine the rest of the dry ingredients including the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and whisk to combine. Cut in your cold butter and break up with your finger tips, much like you would if you were making a pie crust, until the butter is the size of small peas and the mixture holds together when squeezed. If the mixture doesn’t hold together just add a little bit more butter.
Divide the crumble topping between the 2 ramekins and gently pat down, you don’t want to pack it down too hard though!
Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and rhubarb mixture is bubbly.
Serve warm.
