Serves: 4-6
On a recent trip up to the Highlands, one of the restaurants served a magnificent rhubarb sorbet so naturally, the first thing I did on returning home was to try and replicate the intense flavour and soft velvety texture of the sorbet. I think I have cracked it and I’ve upped the ante by adding a ginger crumble crumb to serve alongside the sorbet. This is the summer equivalent to the classic winter rhubarb crumble. The crumble is more like a buttery crumbled biscuit than the traditional pudding crumble so don’t worry if it looks like it is going to melt and become a soggy mess during cooking-it will harden up as it cools.
Ingredients
- 200g caster sugar
- 400g trimmed rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- For the crumble
- 150g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 120g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
- 50g caster sugar
- 20g demerara sugar
Method
- For the sugar syrup, put the sugar in a saucepan and pour in 200ml water. Stir over a gentle heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Put the rhubarb in a large saucepan and add the orange zest and juice. Cook over a low heat until the rhubarb is soft, stirring regularly to stop the rhubarb catching. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- Spoon the rhubarb purée into a liquidiser and pour in half of the sugar syrup. Blend to a smooth paste then, with the motor running pour in the remaining sugar syrup. The mixture should be completely smooth. If you don’t have a liquidiser use a food processor but pass the rhubarb syrup mix through a sieve to make it silky smooth.
- Pour into an electric ice cream maker and churn until set. Spoon into a tub and freeze until hard.
- For the crumble, heat the oven to fan 160°c, mark 4. Put the flour and ginger in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until no large lumps remain. Stir in the sugars. Line a baking tray with non-stick parchment and sprinkle over the crumble. Cook in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until the crumble is light golden around the edges. Stir well and continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes until uniformly golden. Leave to cool before breaking up slightly and store in an airtight container.
- To serve, scatter a tablespoon or two of crumble over a plate and top with a scoop of rhubarb sorbet.
