Name: Sean McConnell’s rhubarb, strawberry and pink peppercorn crumble with chamomile ice-cream
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 750 gm rhubarb, diced; 90 gm honey; 60 gm brown sugar; Juice and finely grated rind of 3 lemons; 750 gm strawberries (about 3 punnets), hulled and halved; 375 gm caster sugar; 3 tbsp pink peppercorns, crushed; Chamomile ice-cream; 500 ml (2 cups) milk; 200 ml pouring cream; 20 gm (1 cup) loose-leaf chamomile tea; 6 egg yolks; 175 gm caster sugar; Crumble; 150 gm softened butter; 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour; 150 gm almond meal; 150 gm (1/3 cup) brown sugar; 75 gm rolled oats

Sean McConnell’s rhubarb, strawberry and pink peppercorn crumble with chamomile ice-cream

Recipe for rhubarb, strawberry and pink peppercorn crumble with chamomile ice-cream by Sean McConnell from Monster, Canberra.

Serves 8

Prep

40M

Cook

Total

1H 40M

“This is pretty much your mum’s old-fashioned crumble,” says McConnell, “but we’ve added pink peppercorns to give it a delicate and floral heat.”

Ingredients

750 gm rhubarb, diced

90 gm honey

60 gm brown sugar

Juice and finely grated rind of 3 lemons

750 gm strawberries (about 3 punnets), hulled and halved

375 gm caster sugar

3 tbsp pink peppercorns, crushed

Chamomile ice-cream

500 ml (2 cups) milk

200 ml pouring cream

20 gm (1 cup) loose-leaf chamomile tea

6 egg yolks

175 gm caster sugar

Crumble

150 gm softened butter

150 gm (1 cup) plain flour

150 gm almond meal

150 gm (1/3 cup) brown sugar

75 gm rolled oats

Method

Main

1.For chamomile ice-cream, bring milk, cream and chamomile tea to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stand to infuse (1 hour). Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale (4-5 minutes), strain milk mixture over, pressing on solids, and whisk to combine. Return to a clean pan and stir over very low heat until mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon or reaches 87C on a thermometer (5-6 minutes) Transfer to a bowl, whisk occasionally until cool, then chill. Churn in an ice-cream machine and freeze. Makes about 1 litre.

2.Place rhubarb, honey, brown sugar and lemon juice and rind in a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (8-10 minutes). In a separate pan, stir strawberries and sugar over medium heat until broken down (8-10 minutes), add to rhubarb with 1 tsp sea salt and set aside.

3.For crumble, beat butter and flour in an electric mixer to combine, then add almond meal, sugar and oats and mix to combine.

4.Preheat oven to 180C. Spoon rhubarb and strawberry compote into 8 shallow individual ovenproof dishes or a 1.2-litre baking dish, scatter with peppercorns, and top with crumble. Bake until golden and bubbling (15-20 minutes for individual, 25-30 minutes for large). Serve with chamomile ice-cream.