Rhubarb, Ginger & Thyme Oat Crumble

Serves 8

I’m sending our prime UK rhubarb season off with a bang with these delicious Ginger, Thyme & Rhubarb Oat Crumbles.  I love experimenting with different herbs and spices in desserts – some work, and some don’t (I can wholeheartedly confirm that turmeric chocolate mousse was an absolute no no!).  But this crumble definitely falls into the heck yeah category!  I have frozen 8 individual ramekins so that I can enjoy a slice of spring in the depths of the winter and feel all happy and smug with myself.   Either that, or I have a fancy dinner party dessert on tap just in case Megan and Harry should decide pop over with all their friends! 

English Rhubarb is just the best, but unless it’s in this crumble, my kids won’t even touch it, unless they are pretending it is a sword.  Rhubarb is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols, and luckily the polyphenol content actually increases when it’s cooked, so this dessert is not only delicious, but full of wholesome nutritious ingredients too. The crust is made from a bunch of gluten-free whole grains, almonds, pumpkin and hemp seeds and to top it off, no refined sugar.  It can easily be vegan by substituting the butter for coconut oil, I frequently switch up between the two and the taste is absolutely not compromised in the slightest.  

Whenever I make a crumble, I tend to switch up the flours, oats, nuts and seeds for a greater nutritional variety.  For example, I alternate between different wholegrain flours (spelt, oat, buckwheat etc), different oats (like regular jumbo oats, or quinoa or buckwheat’s flakes), as well as a range of nuts and seeds depending on whatever is lurking in my kitchen cupboards.  So just use this recipe as a guide, and feel free to switch things up depending on what floury-oaty-nutty-seedy mood you are in at the time!

One generous serving provides 349 calories, 8g protein and over 20% of my daily fibre requirements; as well as a decent amount of Vitamin A and Iron too. I like to serve mine warm with a drizzle of oat cream.

INGREDIENTS

For the topping

·     75g Wholegrain flour of your choice (oat, spelt, buckwheat all work wonderfully)
·     75g Gluten Free Oats
·     70g Organic Coconut Sugar
·     40g Pumpkin Seeds
·     40g Hemp Seeds
·     40g Flaked Almonds
·     1 tsp Dried Ground Ginger
·     1 tsp Dried Thyme
·     150g Butter — Softened (can be substituted for coconut oil if Vegan)
·     Optional — 25g Unflavoured Protein Powder (I used “That Protein” Pumpkin Seed Protein Powder With Chia Seeds)

For the middle

·      350g Chopped Rhubarb
·      4 tsp Coconut Sugar
·      2 tsp Ground Ginger
·      A few Sprigs of fresh Thyme

METHOD

·     Preheat the oven to 180 degrees

For the middle

·     Wash and dice the rhubarb.
·     Either distribute the rhubarb evenly between 8 separate ramekins or spread out in one whole crumble dish.
·     Sprinkle the sugar, ginger and thyme evenly across all of the ramekins.

For the crust

·     Add the flour, sugar, butter, protein powder, ginger and thyme to a high-speed blender and blitz.
·     Place that mixture into a bowl and only then add the remaining ingredients.  
·     Mix by hand so that the oats, nuts and seeds stay chunky and textured.
·     With your fingers, crumble the topping mixture evenly over the rhubarb.
·      Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
·      Unless you are freezing some, in which case, bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool.  Place in a ziplock bag and put in the freezer.
·      Defrost fully before putting back in the oven for another 20 mins.

Nutritional Information

Calories – 349
Protein – 8g
Fibre – 5g
Carbohydrates – 29g
Fat – 23g
Vitamin A – 10%
Vitamin C – 6%
Iron – 11%
Calcium - 6%