Rhubarb and ginger crumble

When I visited Borough market last weekend, I was very excited to see colourful stems of early forced rhubarb from Lincolnshire. I adore rhubarb - that glorious colour really cheers up the winter months. But has anyone ever tried to photograph rhubarb? Knowing my fellow food bloggers, the answer here is probably yes. And not just yes, but 'yes, with great success'. I failed completely - the bright pink colour of the skin appeared to be having some sort of argument with my usually fairly obliging camera. No matter how many shots I took, I couldn't seem to make it look 'real'. As I grew increasingly frustrated, I took a moment to remind myself that this is just a hobby after all and that life is too short to worry about photographing rhubarb.

Fortunately for us all, I had more success when it came to cooking with the rhubarb. Because I don't have nearly enough cook books (!!), I decided to buy another, the other day. Seduced by the gorgeous photos of puddings that I'd actually want to eat (and cook), I bought a copy of Annie Bell's mouthwatering 'gorgeous desserts'. In this wonderfully tempting book I found the perfect recipe for a rhubarb and ginger crumble. Ideal comfort food. All that was needed was the custard (for rhubarb simply HAS to have custard, doesn't it?). I just love a proper British pud.

Rhubarb is brilliant with ginger - I've had savoury dishes which combine the two which have also been good. This was one of the best crumbles I've had in a long time and I can't wait to pick up the next batch of rhubarb.

For the original recipe along with dozens of other delectable desserts, do buy the book. Here is my version.

Rhubarb and ginger crumble
(serves 6)
800g trimmed rhubarb
200g self-raising flour, plus 2 tablespoons
200g demerara sugar
2 knobs stem ginger
100g ground almonds
175g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Wash the rhubarb to clean and then chop into 3cm pieces. Roughly chop the ginger.

2. Toss rhubarb in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons flour, half the sugar and the ginger. Arrange over the base of a 2 litre ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over 2 tablespoons of water.

3. Combine flour, remaining sugar, ground almonds and butter using your hands* until it ressembles coarse breadcrumbs.

4. Scatter mixture over the rhubarb and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden and crisp and the juices are bubbling up at the sides.

5. Serve with custard.

*You can make crumble in a food processor but I have always found that I get a better result when I rub the mixture together by hand. If you do want to keep your mitts clean, then by all means use the whizzer, but take care to stop the blade before the mixture turns to dough.

Notes - this is also superb cold, eaten straight from the dish!