Celebration time! Wakefield’s Rhubarb Festival is returning live in 2022 this weekend – 25 to 27 February. There’s something for everyone, including a food and drink market, chef demos, gardening, growing and foraging workshops, street entertainment and music.
We all missed it so much last year when I wrote about Fiesta time in the Rhubarb Triangle with a recipe for rhubarb lattice tart, so I’m celebrating all the more this year with another of my favourite rhubarb recipes.
We often make rhubarb crumble, but this recipe for tutti frutti rhubarb crumble has a slight twist, as you melt the butter for the crumble rather than rubbing it into the flour. You can also use wholemeal stoneground flour from Queen’s Mill, Castleford to bake the recipe.
What you need
- 3½oz/90g wholemeal flour
- 2oz/50g rolled oats
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2oz/50g demerara sugar
- 4oz/110g butter
- 1lb/450g rhubarb
- 2 tsps ground ginger (optional)
How to bake
Preheat the oven to 190C (170C Fan), 375F/Mark 5. Grease an 8 inch/21 cm baking dish. Melt the butter gently in a pan. Mix together the flour, oats, poppy seeds, and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and make up small patties from the mixture. Freeze these for 10 minutes.
Cut the rhubarb into chunks, place on a baking tray, sprinkle with demerara sugar and pre-cook in the oven for 15 minutes. I usually add 2 tsps of ginger to the rhubarb while the crumble mixture freezes for an extra tangy flavour. Place the rhubarb in a baking dish.
Remove the patties from the freezer and crumble in large and small pieces over the fruit. Bake for about 35 minutes until the top is golden. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with ice cream or crème fraiche.
Meryl says: Make a date for the Rhubarb Festival this year. You can visit between 10am and 5pm on Friday 25 and Saturday 26, and between 10am and 4pm on Sunday 27 February 2022. Stock up on Rhubarb for this fabulous dessert. You can be sure it’ll go“A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!”
