There a few meals that remind me of home, and of family. The tastes of those dinners and desserts instantly send me back to a certain season of my life, and when I move out I am sure they will be what I cook up whenever I feel homesick. My mum's delicious 'bigistrone' soup is one of those meals, as is the fruitcake my grandad makes and the pasta dish my brother taught to me to cook.
But our one family recipe that we eat year round, talk about constantly, and completely adore is crumble. This is the kind of pudding that results in texts from my brother at university, asking what our crumble recipe is. It's so delicious; this is one of the first things I started cooking on my own. When I was a few years younger, I would cook the aforementioned pasta dish with crumble for pudding, and cooking this dish has become second nature to me now.
Those kinds of recipes are the best ones. After time, you get to a stage where you can just play it by ear. Grab a spoon, taste the fruit, add more sugar to taste. Chuck in almonds or oats to the topping. Serve in tiny ramekins or a huge dish to serve a hungry extended family. With this, follow your cooking instincts.
rhubarb & strawberry crumble
ingredients:
for the fruit filling:
approx. 4 stalks rhubarb
half a punnet of strawberries
two to three tablespoons sugar (more/less depending on how tart your rhubarb is)
a dash of water
for the topping:
5oz self-raising flour
1 1/2 oz butter
two tablespoons sugar
method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5
Chop the rhubarb into 1/4 inch pieces. Chuck in a saucepan over a medium heat with sugar and water. Simmer for three minutes with the lid on. Then take the lid off, turn the heat down and cook for a few more minutes until soft. Add in strawberries, turn off the heat and put to one side.
To make the topping, rub together the flour and butter. Stir in sugar.
Into a medium-sized dish or five to six small ramekins, spoon in the fruit mixture. Top with the topping mixture, and smooth the top. If desired, sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the top of the crumble is golden brown.
Yum!
xx
Libby
This recipe is written so britishly!! love it!
ReplyDeleteYours,
K
I hope that's a good thing!
DeleteBy the way, if anyone wants any clarification with ingredients or instructions or whatever, just ask. It's the same lanugage, but American and British and Canadian and Australian recipes can seem really hard to follow at times.
this is so true. it's written so masterfully! but, dear, what is a punnet of strawberries? never heard of it before, and it sounds so cool.
ReplyDelete-jocee <3
A punnet is just a box of strawberries. The little plastic or cardboard box that they come in at the supermarket or farmer's market?
DeleteI think it's around 250g--chuck in two cups or so.
Yum! This looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteHannah
thewritingsofhannah.blogspot.com
Yummy yummy! I read a book called water for chocolate (or something like that) and every chapter had a recipe tied to the story. I believe that's what cooking should be like!
ReplyDeleteLooks so delish!
ReplyDeleteyum!
ReplyDeletehmm, I may have to try this. what, pray tell, is a punnet in American terms, do you know? ;)
ReplyDeleteOh my! I MUST try making that! Thank you for sharing the recipe!!!
ReplyDelete@Jennoelle - a punnet is (according to the dictionary) a "small light basket or other container for fruit or vegetables." :)