Rhubarb and Orange Crumble with a Pistachio Crumb

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine gave me a load of rhubarb. Her neighbour grows it in his garden, and they’ve had so much of it this year, they were giving it away to anyone who would take it. And well, I’ve never been one to turn down free produce!

To tell you the truth, though, I’ve never been a huge fan of rhubarb. Rhubarb flavoured sweets and yogurts don’t really float my boat, and when I was served stewed rhubarb for dessert when I was younger, I always felt a bit cheated. I’d much rather have a chocolate biscuit or a slice of cake than a bowl of pink slop. The only exception, for me, is crumble.

Sprinkle that delicious oaty, sugary, crunchy topping over pretty much anything, and I’ll wolf it down! So it was an obvious choice when deciding what to do with my gifted rhubarb. Me being me though, couldn’t just make a plain old traditional crumble, I had to Pesky it up a bit. And my God is it good!

Using fresh orange when cooking the rhubarb in and adding crushed pistachios in the crumble topping creates layers of flavours and an assortment of textures which hit you all at once, taking this crumble to the next level.

It’s warming, comforting, subtly spiced and not too sweet. It’s the perfect dessert to use up the last of the summer’s rhubarb. Enjoy!

Ready in 50mins (10mins prep, 10mins on the hob, 30mins bake) – Serves 6.

Ingredients:

800g of rhubarb, chopped into chunks about an inch thick
The zest of half an orange
The juice of half an orange
200g of soft brown sugar
A good pinch of ground ginger
150g of unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
150g of plain flour
A good pinch of ground cinnamon
100g of rolled oats
150g of pistachios, blitzed or finely chopped

Method:

Put the rhubarb, orange zest, orange juice, 150g of the brown sugar and the ground ginger in a pan, over a medium heat.
Cook for about 10mins, or until the rhubarb is soft, stirring every so often.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 200c / 180c fan / gas mark 6
Put the rest of the sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon in a bowl, and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs.