Rhubarb, apple & strawberry crumble

Rhubarb is a fairly new addition to our seasonal home cooking endeavors. Until about a year ago, whenever I heard rhubarb I mentally added compote and immediately lost interest. Something screamed 1980s and dull. So last spring, after being consciously bombarded with rhubarb recipes in cookbooks and cooking magazines - throw in few gentle nudges by my lovely wife - I finally did it. I cooked rhubarb. A rhubarb pie. And what a fine piece of delicious pie it was. I was hooked on rhubarb and immensely sad when the season was suddenly over.

It's a new year now. And according to the stock in the supermarkets, it's the beginning of rhubarb season. I wanted to do last year's pie recipe again. But as I'm trying to lose a bit of my winter insulation, I opted for the - slightly - healthier option: a rhubarb crumble. With apples and strawberries added... for good vitamin measure.



Ingredients
500g rhubarb, ends discarded, then diced into 2-3cm pieces 250g strawberries, hulled and quartered 1 large apple (about 200-250g), peeled, cored and diced1 orange, zested and juiced1/4 tsp ground ginger100g golden caster sugarFor the crumble topping
150g wholemeal spelt flour (you could use any other flour as well)100g porridge oats100g demerara sugar25g ground almonds1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 150g butter, dicedMethod
Preheat the oven to 200°CMix the rhubarb, apple, sugar and orange juice and zest in a medium-sized saucepan and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the rhubarb has softened a bitAdd the strawberries and cook for another 1-2 minutes until they have softened as wellPour everything into a pie dish and set asideTo make the crumble, mix all ingredients - except for the butter - in a bowl until well combinedAdd the diced butter and rub together with your fingers to make coarse crumbs (you could also make the crumble topping first and store in the fridge until ready to be used )Sprinkle the topping over the fruit mixture in the pie dish and bake in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the crumble is a dark golden color and the juices start bubbling at the sidesLeave to cool for a few minutes before serving warm as it is or with a side of good-quality custard or vanilla ice creamIndulge.

Tips for adapting this recipe
You can easily vary the combination of fruits in this recipe. Use rhubarb alone, in combination with pears, just apples or apples with strawberries... the options are endless.

The crumble topping can also be easily adapted to suit your own tastes. In addition to the flour, sugar and oats - which in my opinion represent the backbone of each crumble topping - you can also use crushed cereal, rice krispies, chopped nuts, sunflower seeds, dessicated coconut, etc. You can even add orange zest to the mixture.