Rhubarb Crumble

Rhubarb crumble has to be one of the simplest desserts to make and is very economical to make, especially if you grow your own rhubarb as I do.

 

This is a perfect pudding for spring, when you are never quite sure what the weather holds in store and you yearn to eat something warm and comforting on those chilly days that April often offers up. The weather has certainly been very unpredictable in the past couple of weeks. For the past week the warm sun and has made it feel almost balmy, but a cold rainy spell has now set in and the summery foods that I was eating earlier in the week now seem totally inappropriate. What I want is something, warm and comforting and preferably sweet and a little bit self-indulgent. This crumble is just the thing.

 

I have mentioned before how the rhubarb is almost like a weed in my garden and perversely seems to thrive the more that it is neglected. I love using rhubarb in a range of dishes, but this crumble, based on the recipe that my grandmother used to make, has to be my favourite! I particularly love the way the sticky rhubarb juices bubble around the edges as the crumble bakes in the oven. It never fails to amaze me how such simple things can give so much pleasure.

 

There are no complex or tricky techniques that need to be mastered here; all that’s required is the rubbing of the butter into the flour, the addition of some sugar and the chopping of some rhubarb… so much easier than making a pie or tart and, in my humble opinion, a far tastier end result.

 

I baked the crumble in individual sized dish (about 250ml capacity each) but you can also bake it in in a single dish. The crumble should be served warm and cries out for the addition of some warm pouring custard or a generous dollop of lightly whipped fresh cream.

 

Ingredients:

700g rhubarb, cut into 5cm long chunks
125g caster sugar

1 orange, finely grated zest and juice

Crumble:

270g plain flour

180g butter, cubed

90g caster sugar
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160/Gas Mark 4.

2. Toss the rhubarb, sugar, orange juice and zest together and place into a 1.5 litre baking dish (at least 5cms deep). Place the dish on a baking tray and set aside.

Crumble:

3. Place the flour into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter using your fingers until you have a soft crumbly texture. Add the sugar, mixing through with your hands so that it is well distributed.

4. Scatter the topping evenly over the rhubarb and bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and the rhubarb juices are beginning to bubble up around the edges of the crumble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving hot with fresh custard or lightly whipped fresh cream.

Serves 6.
 

 

Butternut Squash, Ginger & Orange Soup

Life has certainly become very busy of late, but I’m not complaining because I am having a great time, eating in some fab restaurants and going to different food festivals and events. The downside of all of this is that I have a bit of a backlog in terms of the posts that I have to write up for the blog… but I tend to take a philosophical stance regarding such things and I’m confident that I’ll get them finished in the next couple of weeks or so. I say all of this by way of explanation for the surge of posts I hope to publish in the near future and as a way of putting a little pressure on myself.

 

Despite how hectic life has become, I have still found time to do quite a bit of cooking and baking, which is great because that is at the core of what I want this blog to be about.

 

Many of the dishes that I have been cooking recently are quick to prepare and cook, but they are still full of flavour and delicious to eat. Don’t get me wrong, despite being an enthusiastic cook and a lover of eating out in good restaurants, I am not a snob when it comes to food and would eat takeaways every now and again. There is one particular chain of diners here in Ireland which serves burgers that I find it impossible to resist and I have also been known to use various so-called ‘convenience’ foods from time-to-time. Ultimately, however, I enjoy cooking and prefer to cook my own meals from scratch. I recognise that not everyone feels the same as I do and find having to cook and prepare meals a bit of an ordeal, but I love it. There are so many recipes that are quick and easy to prepare and result in dishes that are far superior to those that you can buy pre-prepared in the chiller section from the supermarket.

 

In my opinion, the most important quality that you need to possess when cooking is confidence in what you are doing. For some people, cooking is an instinctive thing, but for others who are reluctant or nervous cooks, confidence can be improved by using recipes that are reliable and actually work. I sometimes suspect that there are recipes which are published in some of the best-selling cookbooks and food magazines have never been cooked other than for the glossy photographs to accompany the publication. This drives me mad. Every recipe that appears on my blog has been cooked (often many times) and photographed by me. Although some of them use specialist equipment or are aimed at the more experienced home cook, I try to include many that could be attempted by even the novice! This soup is a perfect example of this as it is incredibly quick and simple to make, using ingredients that can be easily sourced.

 

I love the zingy freshness of this soup, with some gentle warmth provided by the addition of ginger and a little fresh chilli. If you prefer something a little spicier, you can increase the amount of chilli used, but do this cautiously as you still want the sweetness of the butternut squash and orange to come through.

 

You can finish the soup off by serving it with a swirl of cream or crème fraiche and a few leaves of coriander or parsley. Serve with some freshly baked brown soda bread, still warm from the oven! HEAVENLY!
 

Ingredients:

25g butter1 small onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

5cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

1 red chilli pepper, sliced

1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks (600-750g)

Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange

750ml vegetable/chicken stock

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

Cream or crème fraîche

Small leaves of parsley or coriander
 

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onions and garlic. Cook over a low to moderate heat for about 5-7 minutes until they soften but do not allow to colour.

2. Add the ginger, chilli and butternut squash to the saucepan and give everything a good stir. Cover the saucepan and sweat the vegetables to cook for about 5 minutes until just beginning to soften but again, do not allow to colour.

3. Add the orange zest and pour in the stock. Increase the temperature and bring the mixture up to simmering point. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes uncovered, or until the vegetables are soft.

4. Purée the soup using either a stand or hand-held blender and pour into a clean saucepan. Add the orange juice, stirring it through the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

To serve:

5. Serve hot in bowls with a swirl of cream or crème fraîche and a few small leaves of coriander or parsley.
 

Serves 6.

 

 

Review: Afternoon Tea in the Merrion Hotel

The taking of afternoon tea has become incredibly popular in recent years and it is something that I like to treat myself to from time-to-time. Sitting down to dine on delicate sandwiches and an array of fresh scones and beautiful cakes and pastries is definitely something that ticks all my boxes. I am also an ardent tea devotee, so welcome any opportunity to relax in nice surroundings, sipping my favourite beverage from a good china teacup. I should admit that normally, when I’m at home, I’m a tea-bag in a mug gal, but every now and then it’s nice to pretend that I’m a little bit more refined.

In line with the growth in popularity of afternoon tea, there are increasing numbers of hotels, country houses and other establishments offering their take on this particular meal. I was recently in Dublin, attending a few foodie events and met up with friends who suggested going to the 5 star Merrion Hotel, one of Ireland’s top hotels, for afternoon tea.

 

This is a truly beautiful hotel, located in a row of magnificent Georgian buildings on Upper Merrion Street; a stone’s throw from the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland. There is nothing ostentatious or vulgar about the Merrion, but rather it possesses an air of quiet grandeur and understated elegance – a perfect place to have afternoon tea.

 

The Merrion is also home to the largest private art collection in Ireland and it is from this that Paul Kelly, Executive Pastry Chef, has drawn his inspiration, basing the cakes and pastries which form part of the afternoon tea on the paintings that adorn the hotel’s walls.

 

On offer as part of the Merrion’s ‘Art Tea’ are a selection of savouries, breads and cakes and the Merrion Art Tea pastries.

 

As you would expect, there are a number of different teas to choose from with coffee also available for those that prefer it. Whilst there are familiar tea blends on offer like Assam, Oolong and Early Grey there are also a couple of slightly more unusual choices. Feeling in adventurous mood, I decided to go for the Irish Malt Assam blend which I drank without milk. This was an unusual tea, unlike anything I had previously sampled; with a deep malty flavour that was almost smoky on the palate. The tea was complex in flavour and with its background notes of whiskey was almost masculine in character – I absolutely loved it. It was utterly delicious!

 

There are plenty of lighter teas, including green teas, on offer for those who prefer something more aromatic with a floral hint. If iced tea is your thing, or if you’d like to try a matcha green tea based mocktail, these are also on the beverage menu.

 

Egg Mayonnaise in Brioche Rolls

Once the tea was poured, we were presented with a 3-tiered stand containing a selection of finger sandwiches, cakes, scones and various preserves including clotted cream, lemon curd and the most intensely flavoured raspberry jam.

 

Sandwiches included all of the following per person:

• Chicken & Pesto on Sunflower Bread
• Smoked Salmon on Brown Soda Bread with Horseradish Cream
• Cucumber with Cream Cheese & Chive on Tomato Bread
• Brioche rolls with Egg Mayonnaise
• Roast Beef on White Bread

Each of the respective breads used for the sandwiches was perfectly chosen to complement the filling it contained. It’s hard to pick my favourite sandwich because all were extremely tasty, but if pushed I’d have to say that I the egg mayonnaise rolls were delicious… but in truth, all were fabulous.

 

Fruit Scones filled with Raspberry Jam & Clotted Cream

Both the plain and fruit scones were lovely and although they had arrived warm to the table, they had cooled by the time I got around to sampling them. This did not affect the flavour (and they tasted even more wonderful when topped with both jam AND cream) but they were heavier in texture when cooled, so I would recommend eating whilst still warm. The preserves that were provided were top quality; the lemon curd was creamy and lemony with just the right balance between sweet and sharp; the jam was bursting with the flavour of raspberries and the clotted cream… well, who could have a difficulty with something so rich, creamy and totally self-indulgent?

 

Cakes on offer included all of the following:

• Battenberg Cake
• Lemon Cake
• Porter Cake

Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd

Two slices of a delicately textured Battenberg cake with were given to each person. These were not slices of the usual pale pink and yellow Battenberg Cake that most of us are familiar with but rather, were vividly-coloured versions based on a painting by Dublin-born abstract artist Sean Scully which is on display in the Merrion’s drawing room. Being a fan of marzipan, which a traditional Battenberg is usually covered in (and also was here,) I loved this version! The Lemon and Porter cakes were both lovely, with the latter being served as an individually baked mini-cake rather than in slices from a loaf as it is normally. This version reminded me more of a tea brack rather than a traditional porter cake but this aside, it was full of fruit and tasted delicious.

 

Where the Merrion’s afternoon tea really distinguished itself was in its finale which consisted of three beautiful examples of the finest patisserie that were directly inspired by specific artworks in the collection on display in the hotel.

 

Raspberry & Passion Fruit Tart

We were served:

• Raspberry & Passion Fruit Tart inspired by Futile Defense (Fabricated Evidence) by John Boyd
• Rosewater & Orange Mousse on a White Chocolate Feuilletine inspired by Roses and Temple by Patrick Hennessy
• Chocolate Trinity inspired by Rath Moorea by Pauline Bewick

Each of these offerings had a number of elements to them which resulted in sweet delights that looked beautiful on the plate and excited the taste buds in terms of both flavour and texture. It was obvious that despite their miniature scale, a lot of attention to detail and love had gone into making each. My favourite of the three was the Rosewater & Orange Mousse which was rather surprising given that I am not normally a fan of rosewater as I find it can be overpowering, swamping out all other flavours in a dish. Here, however, its inclusion was well judged being also evocative of the ethereal atmosphere present in the painting which inspired the particular pastry.
 

Rosewater & Orange Mousse

Afternoon tea in the Merrion Hotel was a wonderful experience and thoroughly enjoyable. I would have no hesitation in recommending it as everything we ate was delicious. There was a playfulness to the foods that we were served which, in my opinion, strikes just the right note for an afternoon tea. Service was exemplary – staff were attentive without being obtrusive and were extremely knowledgeable and informative about both the food and artwork. Strongly recommended!

 

I should also mention that if you are unable to consume all the delights on offer in one sitting, the staff will be more than happy to pack up any leftovers for you to take home and enjoy later.

Art Tea is served from 3pm to 6pm, Monday to Thursday and 2pm to 4.30pm Friday to Sunday. Price: €39 or €55 with a glass of Champagne (per person).
 

The Merrion Hotel

Upper Merrion Street

Dublin 2

Tel: 01 6030600

White Chocolate & Ginger Mousse with Roasted Rhubarb

Many people grow rhubarb in their gardens and beyond making the odd rhubarb pie or crumble, don’t tend to do much else with it. Although it can be used in savoury dishes, rhubarb is more commonly used in sweet dishes and desserts. Rhubarb can be quite sour but it is important not to over-sweeten it as it will lose its characteristic and unique flavour. It is far better to balance out this inherent tartness with the other sweet elements in the dish.

I planted a few crowns of rhubarb a couple of years after we moved into our newly built house over a decade ago. At this stage it is like a weed in the garden; the more I pick, the stronger it grows back… not that I am complaining because I absolutely love it and easily find use for it in my cooking and baking.

I am incredibly pleased with how this dessert turned out; the white chocolate mousse is light and creamy and goes perfectly with the roasted rhubarb. Ginger has a natural affinity with rhubarb, so I decided to lightly infuse the cream and melted white chocolate with some fresh ginger. White chocolate can tend to be very sweet and normally I find it a little cloying, so I took the decision not to add any extra sugar to the mousse. This was definitely the right course of action and resulted in a mousse that was both rich in flavour, but light in the mouth at the same time. The ginger was definitely present but manifested itself in a subtle way and served to really showcase the rhubarb, which was my main aim.

 

I was thrilled with how this dessert turned out; it was perfectly balanced and is a wonderful way to finish off a meal – being indulgent but not heavy. The recipe may seem daunting at first, but in reality, the mousse is quite simple to make, so do give it a go.

 

The great benefit of dishes like this is that they can be made well in advance and require no attention thereafter, other than to place a couple of little shortbread or dessert biscuits on the side. As such, it would make a perfect dessert for a dinner party. I decided to make some simple shortbread biscuits using my basic shortbread recipe and to which I added some pink peppercorns. The faint spicy heat of the peppercorns was lovely against the sweet and buttery shortbread and introduced a playful note to the finished dish.
 

Ingredients:

Roasted rhubarb:
200g rhubarb, chopped in 4-5cm lengths on the diagonal

50g caster sugar

1tblsp water

Mousse:

300ml double cream

175g white chocolate

25g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thick slices

2 leaves of gelatine

3 large eggs, separated
 

Method:

Roasted rhubarb:

1. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan Oven 180C/Gas Mark 6.

2. Place the rhubarb in a single layer in a roasting dish. And sprinkle over the sugar and water. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until the rhubarb is tender and releasing its juices but has not disintegrated. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Refrigerate until ready to assemble dessert.

Mousse:

3. Place the double cream, white chocolate and sliced ginger into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Remove the bowl and pour the chocolate mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl. Discard the ginger which should collect in the sieve. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, place the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water and allow to soften for 5 minutes. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out any excess water. Place the softened gelatine leaves in the warm chocolate mixture and mix in using a small whisk until it is completely incorporated. Add the egg yolks ad mix these in thoroughly. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, but let it go too long so that the gelatine begins to set the mixture.

5. Using a hand held electric mixer, whisk the egg whites to the firm peak stage. Mix a third of the whisked egg whites through the cooled chocolate mixture and then fold in the remainder. Pour the mixture equally into 6 serving bowls, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To serve:

6. Spoon some of the chilled roasted rhubarb and juices on top of each mousse and serve with some shortbread biscuits on the side.

Serves 6.