Rhubarb crumble

Oh, the ambitious plans I had for making the most of the rhubarb season! I had plans for rhubarb ketchup (don't ask), rhubarb curd and jams galore. And what happened? Not much. I managed to dish out pork chops with rhubarb that tasted like vomit.Oh, and a rhubarb tart with goat cheese, white chocolate and rosemary. Which, luckily was a massive hit. Give it a try and try not to love it!

We finished the culinary extravaganza that was this year's Midsummer with this plain and boring timeless classic rhubarb crumble. Classic with some tweaks though: The crumble was cooked with vanilla and ginger and the crumble got some extra oomph from toasted coconut flakes. I'm so loving them right now - they give such a nice texture to savoury dishes too. Sprinkle them on salads or on top of some Asian style caramelized pork!

Oh and while on rhubarb... surely I can't be the only one out there that thinks there's something dubiously cannabis-like in its smell? Surely...?

Serves 6

Rhubarb filling:

750 g rhubarb

a couple of cm piece of ginger, cut in slices

1 vanilla pod

1,5 dl sugar

Split the vanilla pod and scrape the seeds out. Trim the rhubarbs and (if they're thick) peel if needed. Cut into a couple of cm chinks and put in the pan with rest of the ingredients (including the vanilla pod) and bring to boil. Lower the temperature and let simmer until rhubarb is done to your liking (7-10 minutes should do it). Remove the vanilla pod and fish out the ginger too. Check taste and (if needed, add more sugar).

Crumble:

75 g butter

1,5 dl flour

pinch of salt

1 dl toasted coconut flakes

1 dl sugar

1 dl toasted and roughly chopped nuts (macadamia, hazelnut, Brazil, cashews or pecans)

2 generous tsp cardamom

Toast coconut flakes on pan over medium heat (no oil) until they turn golden. Remove from the pan and repeat with nuts. Let the nuts cool a bit and chop. Finely chop/grate the butter into a bowl and rub together with flour and salt. Then add rest of the ingredients. Spoon rhubarb filling into an oven-proof dish and spread crumble mixture on top of it. Grate a couple of shavings of butter on top of the crumble and bake at 175° until the crumble is crisp and golden: about 30-40 minutes. 

Let cool just a little and serve with custard or vanilla ice cream.

_____________________

ANYONE FOR SECONDS?