Ridiculously Rhubarb!

Ridiculously Rhubarb!!

Ah, the season of summer! It’s a time for sun, sand, and of course sumptuous summer foods. The theme for today is rhubarb, which doesn’t have the most amazing reputation among fruits or vegetables. But as with anything, if you cook it well and add the right ingredients, you can come up with some dazzling and delicious dishes!  

For starters, here’s one from right here on Baity’s Mood Food Blog - a scrumptious Smoky Apple and Rhubarb Cake, click here for the recipe…

But...if you’re looking for something a bit more refreshing for a hot summer’s day, here is a delightfully cool recipe, perfect for a summer evening!

Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream

Ingredients

For the ice cream

• 1 lb (450 g) trimmed rhubarb
• 8 oz (225 g) sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 15 fl oz (425ml) whipping cream

For the crumble

• 3 oz (75 g) plain white flour
•  2 oz (50 g) butter
• 2 oz (50 g) light brown muscovado sugar
• ½ level teaspoon ground ginger

                                                                      

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375°F (190°C).

Equipment

You will also need a shallow, 11 x 7 inch (28 x 18 cm) baking tin and a 3½ pint (2 litre) polythene freezer box, 8 x 8 inches x 2½ inches deep (20 x 20 cm x 6 cm deep).

How to make it - 15 minutes

         1

First of all, make the crumble by combining all the ingredients together in a bowl and using your hands to rub the butter into the flour, so that the mixture comes together to form small, pea-sized balls of dough (rather as if someone had made a half-hearted attempt to make breadcrumbs from very fresh bread!) Now sprinkle this evenly into the baking tin and leave on one side.

.         2

Now cut the rhubarb into ½ inch (1 cm) lengths and place them in a large, shallow baking dish along with the sugar and lemon juice. Place the dish on a lower shelf in the pre-heated oven and put the tin containing the crumble mixture on the shelf above. The crumble needs to be baked for 10 minutes, then removed from the oven and left to cool. The rhubarb may need a further 15-20 minutes' cooking before it is completely tender: when it's cooked, take it out and leave it to cool a little before pouring it into a food processor or blender. Process until you have a smooth purée, then pour it into a measuring jug, cover and transfer to the fridge to chill.

         3

Before making the ice cream, use your hands to break up the cooled crumble and restore it to small, pea-sized pieces (if they're too big, the pieces are unwieldy to eat in the ice cream; if they're too small, they disappear). Next, stir the cream into the rhubarb purée, pour into an ice-cream maker and churn until the mixture has the consistency of softly whipped cream.

         4

Quickly spoon it into the polythene freezer box and stir in the crumble pieces. Put the lid on and then freeze for a minimum of 2 hours, or until the ice cream is firm enough to serve. To make without an ice-cream maker, freeze the cream and rhubarb mixture (without the crumble) in the box for 3-4 hours, then whisk and return to the freezer. Re-freeze for a further 2 hours, then whisk again and stir in the crumble before the final freezing. If frozen solid, the ice cream will need to be transferred to the main body of the fridge for about 25 minutes before serving to allow it to become soft enough to scoop.

This smooth yet crumbly ice cream concoction from Delia Smith is a gorgeously sweet treat guaranteed to give anyone a new-found love for rhubarb.