Strawberry and rhubarb crumble

If you don’t have rose geranium, you should. And if you don’t, you can try a few drops of rose water in with the fruit for a similar effect. Matthew Evans, Gourmet Farmer Series 4

Ingredients

• 200 g (1⅓ cups) plain flour
• 120 g caster sugar
• good pinch salt
• 120 g unsalted butter, chilled and diced
• 3 rose geranium leaves, washed well
• 500 g rhubarb stalks, trimmed, washed and chopped
• 500 g strawberries, wiped and hulled
• 3-4 tbsp honey or use caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chilling time: 30 minutes

Instructions

Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks nicely crumbly. Chill for 30 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

Simmer the rose geranium leaves in 125 ml (½ cup) water for a few minutes or until quite fragrant. Toss the rhubarb and strawberries with the honey and vanilla (heat the honey if it is too thick). Press into the bottom of a large casserole dish and splash with a little strained rose geranium water to flavour but not drown.

Just before baking, sprinkle the crumble evenly over the fruit and bake towards the top of the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top is browned.  Serve with vanilla ice-cream or a decent custard.

Photography by Alan Benson. Styling by Lucy Tweed. Food preparation by Tammi Kwok. Creative concept by Belinda So.

Matthew Evans is back in his brand-new series of Gourmet Farmer, 8pm Thursday nights on SBS and on SBS On Demand.

If you don’t have rose geranium, you should. And if you don’t, you can try a few drops of rose water in with the fruit for a similar effect. Matthew Evans, Gourmet Farmer Series 4