March 2020 - tastebotanical

Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb Crumble with Star Anise

This easy Rhubarb Crumble is an extremely simple traditional English pudding. What makes this recipe special is the addition of star anise which gives it a wonderful mild aniseed flavour which goes brilliantly with the sweet-sour rhubarb.

In praise of fruit crumble

I am a big fan of fruit crumbles. They are pretty much fool-proof, can use a range of different fruit depending on the season and what is available and, like this one, it is really easy to add a unique flavour twist with a bit of spice. They are also the perfect make-ahead dessert and are very versatile as they can be eaten cold, at room-temperature or hot from the oven. Just add a dollop of custard, cream or ice-cream and you have the perfect warming, comforting pudding.

I make Apple Crumble all year around but, in spring and early summer, Rhubarb Crumble is my favourite. This is largely because I have a very large rhubarb plant in my garden. We inherited it when we moved into our current house and for many years I tried to get rid of it as it is literally in the middle of our main flower bed. Also, at that point, it was not something I particularly wanted to cook or eat. The giant rhubarb plant stubbornly resisted all my attempts to kill it and gradually I gave in and decided to try and cook with it. Now it is one of my favourite ingredients and I actively look forward to rhubarb season. In addition to crumble, I also make lots of other rhubarb recipes including Rhubarb Gin, Rhubarb Fool, Rhubarb Compote, Rhubarb Roulade, Rhubarb Jam and Rhubarb Curd.

Things you need to know about Rhubarb Crumble

As with all crumbles, it is very easy to make. You do not need to cook the rhubarb in advance. You simply wash and cut up the rhubarb stalks and add them to the dish.

A basic Rhubarb Crumble recipe is very simple to make but there are lots of ways that you can make it a bit different.

In this recipe, I add star anise to provide a bit of flavour enhancement. Other spices that you could add include cardamon (1 teaspoon of ground cardamon powder or 3 cardamon pods), ginger (1 teaspoon of ground ginger) or vanilla (1 teaspoon of vanilla extract).
Orange is also a great flavour partner to rhubarb so adding the zest and juice of a small orange to the rhubarb pieces is also a great way to enhance your crumble.
A scattering of almonds (or hazelnuts or pine nuts) on top of the crumble topping is also a very good addition. Add them five minutes before the end of the cooking time so that they will be toasted but not burnt.

What is star anise?

Star anise is a spice, shaped like a five-pointed star, which is made from the fruit of the Chinese evergreen tree Illicium verum. It is one of the most popular spices used in Chinese cooking and provides the dominant flavour in Chinese five spice powder. It is also widely used in Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. I think the star shaped seed pods are pretty but they are quite large and hard so using ready ground Star Anise powder, or grinding it yourself, is a good option. It adds an aniseed flavour to food and, in addition to rhubarb, is a good flavour partner with roast meat, especially pork and duck and in curries. In fact, it is most widely used in savoury, rather than sweet, recipes.

Rhubarb Crumble with Star Anise

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: Serves 6
Category: Pudding
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

Print Recipe

Description

This easy recipe takes traditional Rhubarb Crumble to a new level with the addition of star anise which provides a subtle aniseed flavour.

Ingredients

Scale

4 stems of fresh rhubarb
6 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of ground star anise or 3 whole star anise pods
175 g butter or vegetable fat
350 g plain flour
175 g caster sugar
Flaked almonds

Rhubarb

Instructions

Set your oven to 180 C, 400 F or Gas Mark 4.
Wash your rhubarb stems and then cut them into 1 cm lengths.
Put the rhubarb pieces in a baking dish (20 cm x 28 cm). Sprinkle with caster sugar. You will need approximately one and a half tablespoons of sugar for each rhubarb stem. If you are wary of the sourness of rhubarb, you can add two tablespoons of sugar for each stem.
If you are using ground star anise sprinkle it over the rhubarb. If you are using whole star anise seedpods add them to the dish. You will get a milder flavour if you are using the whole seedpods. You will also need to let people know that they are there!
Next make the crumble topping. Put the 350 g flour and 175 g butter (or vegetable fat) in a bowl and “rub in” using your fingers, or use a food processor, until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Then stir in the 175 g of caster sugar.
Pour the crumble topping on top of the rhubarb.
Place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 35 minutes.
If you wish, you can sprinkle some flaked almonds on top of the crumble for the final 5 minutes that it is in the oven. They should get brown and toasted (but not burnt) if they are added at this stage.

Rhubarb Crumble

Keywords: rhubarb, crumble, star anise, dessert, pudding, recipe

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Lost in Food Feast Glorious Feast, and #Fiesta Friday with Fiesta Friday, Mollie@FrugalHausfrau and Liz@Spades, Spoons and Spatulas

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Roasted Pepper Salad

Roasted Pepper Salad – an easy five-ingredient recipe

This Roasted Pepper Salad is a very simple vegan recipe which showcases the rich, sweet taste of roasted peppers. I think that sometimes less is more and that it is good to pick on one star ingredient and add a few others that really bring out its flavour. In this case, garlic, a citrus dressing and parsley transform the roasted peppers into a salad within minutes.

How I learned to love peppers

Making this recipe changed me from a pepper-hater to a pepper-lover in one bit. My previous experience of peppers had not been positive. When I was growing up, adding raw peppers to a green salad was a popular way of adding a bit of colour. It looked pretty but the taste of raw pepper did nothing for me. In fact it still doesn’t. My other early pepper-related experiences involved the stuffed peppers which were occasionally served for school lunches. And the less said about them, the better.

However, inspired by a delicious pepper pasta sauce that a friend cooked for me when I was a student, I realised that the key to pepper-eating bliss was to roast them! Roasting, either on a griddle, under a grill, in the oven or on a barbecue has a transformative effect on peppers. They become soft and savoury with a delicious smoky sweetness. All that is needed to transform them into a salad is a citrus dressing, a bit of garlic, parsley and some seasoning.

If you like this recipe, you might also like my recipe for Feta Quiche With Roasted Peppers.

So why is this such a great salad?

Roasted Pepper Salad is one of my favourite salads – and not just for the taste! First off, it is very simple – only five ingredients including seasoning – and it is fool-proof to make (no fancy culinary skills required). Secondly, it is healthy. Roasting retains the flavour and nutritional value of the peppers and the calorie count is low (if you care about that sort of thing…). Finally, it is an extremely easy-going and versatile salad. You can make it a day or so in advance. It keeps in the fridge for several days. It can be served warm or at room temperature or cold. You can pimp it up with other ingredients – pine nuts for a bit of crunch, capers, olives, anchovies or some salty cheese such as feta are all good additions. Or you can just leave it simple. It is a fantastic side dish. I will also have it for lunch with just some crusty bread or maybe a green salad. It is such a great roasted pepper recipe!

Other easy salads

I love salads and eat them all the year around – not just in summer. If you like this Broad Bean Salad recipe, you might also like some of my other salad recipes.

Aubergine Salad with Soy and Honey – A great, easy oriental-style salad with a fantastic hit of umami flavour which can be made in 15 minutes.
Thai Cucumber Salad – Fresh, crunchy and tasty with brilliant Thai flavours which takes 5 minutes.
Raw Beetroot and Carrot Salad – This is another quick and easy raw salad which has a zesty citrus dressing.
Red Cabbage Coleslaw – An easy raw salad which includes red cabbage, carrot and apple.
Broad Bean Salad with Feta – Fresh green broad beans and salty feta make this a brilliant, flavourful salad.
Spiced Carrot Salad with Honey and Lemon – This salad takes a bit longer to make as the carrots are roasted. It is worth it as the lemon, honey and North African spices work magic on this versatile vegetable.
Roasted Beetroot Salad with Yogurt and Tahini – Again, this salad takes a bit longer to make but it is worth it for the intense flavour of the roasted beetroot.

Roasted Pepper Salad recipe