What is your ultimate comfort food? This is one of the questions I have asked all the people I have interviewed in the series I’m writing for Borough Market. My interviewees all come from different parts of the world, or have parents who do, so their answers differ a lot, but one thing they all share in common is that it tends to be something warming and filling.
“I don’t think you can get any better than a rhubarb crumble,” says Paul Wheeler, of Paul Wheeler’s Fresh Supplies. “If there was one comfort food, yeah that’d probably be it.” What is it that makes rhubarb crumble such a classic? Perhaps it is because the rhubarb is naturally very tart and contrasts perfectly with the sweet crumble topping and accompaniments, such as custard or vanilla ice cream.
I usually add nuts and oats to my crumble, but in this recipe I go for a shortbread topping. I think there is something elegant about rhubarb; perhaps it’s natural acidity and bright pink colour. A shortbread crumble seems to me to complement this, it seems more refined somehow. I bake it separately to retain utmost crispiness, but you don’t have to do this.
Paul’s preferred accompaniment is vanilla custard and he always makes it from scratch, like his Nan used to do. He doesn’t use corn flour in his custard – “it’s cheating” – but if you are worried about the custard curdling and/or you are short on time, it helps to stabilise the yolks and the custard will thicken faster, with no notable impact on the flavour of the custard.
The season for forced Yorkshire rhubarb has just begun, which is lucky because Paul says, “it has to be Yorkshire rhubarb”. A squeeze of lemon helps it to retain its vibrant colour.
Serves 4-6.
Ingredients
For the crumble
125g butter, room temperature
180g plain white flour
60g golden caster sugar
For the fruit
1kg Yorkshire forced rhubarb
Squeeze of lemon (juice of 1 quarter, approx.)
150g caster sugar
For the custard
6 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
1 tbsp corn flour (optional)
½ pint double cream
½ pint whole milk
1 vanilla pod
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
To make the crumble topping, put the butter in a large mixing bowl and break it into chunks. Add the flour and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, mix in gently with your fingertips and put it in the fridge.
Trim the rhubarb, removing the leaves and the very base of the stalk. Cut it into 2 inch pieces and arrange in a baking dish. Squeeze lemon over the rhubarb, sprinkle 100g of the sugar over the top, cover with foil and put in the oven. Cook for 1 hour or until tender, but still retaining it’s shape. Towards the end of cooking, taste and add more sugar if desired. It should be quite tart to contrast with the custard and crumble.
While the rhubarb is cooking, make the custard. In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar and corn flour, if using. Pour the cream and milk into a heavy-based saucepan. Split the vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out and add them to the saucepan with the pod. Bring the milk and cream to a gentle simmer, but don’t let it boil. Slowly pour the warm milk and cream onto the eggs, whisking constantly, until you have whisked it all in.
If you are not using corn flour, place the bowl of custard over a saucepan of boiling water and whisk until it has thickened to the consistency you desire. If you are using corn flour, return the custard to the heavy-based saucepan, place over a low heat and stir until it has thickened to the consistency you desire. It takes at least 20 minutes for it to start thickening. The longer you heat it, the thicker it will get.
About 20 minutes before the rhubarb is ready, spread the crumble on a large oven tray lined with baking parchment. Bake for 10 minutes, take out and use a fork to move it around and break up any large chunks. Put it back in the oven for another 5 minutes, then remove and put to one side to cool slightly.
Remove the rhubarb from the oven, sprinkle the crumble over the top and serve with the custard.
