Recipe: Shetland Rhubarb Crumble
"Rhubarb is a word which rolls on the tongue with relish. It sounds both rude and absurd, and the imagination has found all sorts of uses for it."
~ Mary Prior, Rhubarbaria
I am an absolute rhubarb fanatic, I just love the stuff, and this is the best time of year to indulge in it. The sweet, fresh shoots are just bursting with tang and spring flavour as we move towards June. This is always the first dish I cook with rhubarb every year and I make sure that I freeze a few for winter too.
Shetland is a great place for rhubarb - it grows prolifically here. You often find abundant patches of it growing among the ruins of old houses. I'm not sure why it grows so well, but it certainly thrives. It is neither a native plant to Shetland, nor one which has been around for a long time. It has only graced tables in Britain for about 200 years and originates from the East (somewhere). Originally used as a medicine, it became a popular food-source in the 19th century and would have certainly brought an exotic flavour to the traditional Shetland diet.
The recipe below is a tooth-melting and indulgent crumble. I got the recipe many years ago from a friend. It was a recipe that came from the North of Shetland and I have adapted it to suit my sweet tooth by adding more butter and sugar (sorry Kay). It's a delicious crumble that uses oats to give more indulgence and a fantastic crunch.
INGREDIENTS:
500g rhubarb (cubed)
60g granulated sugar
160g butter
100g demerara sugar
100g porridge oats
100g plain flour
Pinch of cinnamon
METHOD:
Stew the rhubarb and the granulated sugar over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb has softened.
Place this in the bottom of a pie dish and set to the side.
Melt the butter in a pan.
Pour this over the demerara sugar, oats and flour, adding a pinch of cinnamon to taste.
Mix this together into a thick crumble and add to the top of the stewed rhubarb.
Bake at about 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve with ice cream, cream or custard.
Remember to tag me in your crumbles using @shetlandwithlaurie or #shetlandwithlaurie on Instagram.
With love,
Laurie x
“Visitors want to have the best experience; they want to see Shetland through the eyes of a local. They want to taste the salt on their faces, smell the sea and bear witness to the wind in their hair. They want to drink in the sights, the smells and the sounds of an island community. They want to be shown the places they would otherwise not discover. They want to piece together the fascinating jigsaw and truly discover Shetland; this is the trip they have dreamed of.”
