Usually each month we head down to the High Street on the first Tuesday of the month and buy some amazing local grub for a fiver and write up a recipe to give you some inspiration in the kitchen. However, the June Farmers Market was so delicious we decided to do you a bonus recipe because, well, we’re just nice like that.
The first thing that strikes you about Guildford Farmers Market is the colourful array of fresh seasonal fruit and veg that is on offer from the various different stalls. In recent months, the abundance of asparagus (as shown in our May addition) and rhubarb and strawberries has been apparent, so we wanted to try and incorporate a typical British desert into our Farmers Market recipes.
Technically rhubarb is a vegetable, however, we mainly associate it with sweet food and it certainly reminds me of summer months, picking fruit in the countryside and quaint little tea rooms serving delicious little desserts. That is just my association, but rhubarb and strawberries are the epitome of British summer foods and they certainly taste better on a warm, sunny day. Here’s a very simple recipe for a delicious dessert that makes you smile whether young or old and why not give it a go with some Loseley Park ice cream!
Ingredients:
2 bunches of rhubarb
110g butter
200g flour
110g Demerara sugar
8 tbsp of Caster sugar
4 tbsp of water
A sprinkle of ground ginger
A pallet of strawberries
A couple of scoops of vanilla Loseley Park ice cream (optional)
Cooking Time: 45mins – 1 hour
Serves: 3-4
Instructions:
- Wash the rhubarb and discard the leaves and tough ends, leaving the greeny/pink stalks left for you to cook. Cut these into approximately 3 inch long sticks.
- Place on an oven tray and coat with the caster sugar, whilst also sprinkling over the water. Leave to roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until soft.
- Measure out your flour, butter and Demerara sugar before adding to a mixing bowl and rubbing together to form your crumble topping, making sure the mixture is soft and not too large in size.
- Take the rhubarb out of the oven and place into an appropriately sized ovenproof dish, only filling 1-2 inches high and sprinkle over a dash of ginger for extra flavour.
- Add your crumble topping to the dish, flattening down, but not compacting too much. Place in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the crumble top is golden and the rhubarb is bubbling.
- Wash and slice your strawberries and serve over a generous portion of crumble with a scoop or two of ice cream to create a summery mix of flavours, textures and temperatures.
James Martin