Funny how things go, looked in the cupboard and was uninspired so cobbled together a recipe. Talk about winging it, yup I just made it up. Now that I made the crumble; back to being my normal night owl self, tapping away writing blog posts close to midnight.
Had some rhubarb, how this reminds me of my mother  She’s been gone now 11 years though I love baking just like she did. She made a wicked rhubarb crumble and this is my vegan/gluten free version in memory of her.
Pomegranate molasses can be bought in Iranian/Persian supermarkets and online. I’ve only had an Iranian brand which is superb, it’s so good I want to eat it off a spoon direct from the bottle as they say in Persian – Khosh Mazeh (delicious).
If you can’t find it subsitute any sweet juice or maple/date syrup.
The recipe
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4/350°F
Rhubarb
3 big stalks of rhubarb, chopped into smallish chunks
1/4 pint of water or enough water to half cover the rhubarb in a small pan
1 dessert spoon of pomegranate molasses (add more to taste)
1 dessert spoon of coconut sugar (add more to taste)
Crumble
2 cups of oats (440g), (normal cut not jumbo) – I used gluten free oats
1/2 cup (220g) of cold dairy free marg or butter (unsalted)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar to add to mixture
Method
Put the rhubarb, water, sugar and pomegranate molasses is a small pan and bring to boil and simmer for 5 mins
Transfer to a ovenproof pie dish and set aside (it looks quite liquidy, that’s ok as it will reduce down in the oven when cooking)
Add the oats to a bowl
Cube the marg/vegan butter (make sure it’s cold) before adding to the oats
Gently combine the marg and oats with your fingers – don’t take forever as the marg will melt too much!
It should resemble a rough breadcrummbly look
Now add the sugar and stir in or use your fingers to combine ( You can use demerera as a substitute) I prefer coconut sugar as it has a nice caramel texture and taste. You don’t want the rhubarb too sweet either as rhubarb is meant to be tart.
Spoon the oaty mix on top of the rhubarb, covering all the rhubarb completely
Bake in a preheated oven for 35-45 mins, the top will go a bit golden and the rhubarb will be bubbling underneath
Serve hot or cold, my favourite is cold vegan custard (drizzled with pomegranate molasses) or dairy free ice cream or soya/oat cream.
Enjoy!
Music listened to whilst cooking and writing the blog post.
Fleetwood Mac, The Rapture, Siavash Ghomayshi & Sly & The Family Stone