Ingredients
3 stalks rhubarb
1/4 vanilla bean (seeds and skin)
3 small pieces of orange peel
100g white flour
50g brown sugar (crumble) + 10g for the rhubarb mixture
50g butter
Preparation
1. Rhubarb mixture: Cut the ends of the rhubarb stalks and wash thoroughly to get rid of any dirt. You don’t want dirt in your crumble! The only little black bits you want are from the vanilla bean! Then slice them into 1/2 inch pieces and place them in a container.
2. Add 10g of brown sugar, the vanilla bean and orange peel to the container. Close the lid and shake. Place in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight. The juices from the rhubarb will be extracted. Because of this, you want to make sure you don’t add any liquids or juice to the container.
3. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven at 180C.
4. Crumble: Place the white flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Slice the soft butter (room temperature) into small pieces and use your hands to mix in the butter with the sugar and flour. Knead it like it’s dough until chunks start to form. The warmth from your hands will also soften the butter and make the mixture combine more easily.
5. Take the rhubarb mixture and strain out the liquids into another bowl (you can boil the juice down into a syrup to pour over the crumble!). The reason why you must separate the juice is because the rhubarb will continue to release water during the cooking process. Keep the orange peel and vanilla with the rhubarb and place into a baking dish (they can be removed when you eat! This way, the flavours are cooked altogether).
6. Add the crumble on top to cover the surface. Cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Credit: Foodista