Three Delicious Rhubarb Recipes from Living North Columnist Peter Sidwell

Place the flour and butter in a mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour to create a crumbly texture.

Add half the water and stir with a spoon until the mixture starts coming together into a ball of dough. Add more water a little at a time if needed, but avoid making the pastry too wet.

Once you have a ball of dough, shape it into a ball, wrap it, and place it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel, core, and chop the apples into small one centimetre pieces. Place them in a shallow pan with the sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the apples soften.

Chop the rhubarb into one centimetre pieces and add it to the pan with the apples. Cook until the rhubarb is tender, then remove from heat and leave to cool.

For the sausage filling, use a sharp knife to remove the sausage meat from the casings. Place it in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, sage, and crushed ginger biscuits, then mix together.

Roll out the pastry to about half-a-centimetre thick and use it to line a 20-centimetre-round pie tin, approximately three to four centimetres deep. Let the edges of the pastry hang over slightly to prevent shrinking during baking. If you prefer trimming the edges, rest the lined pastry in the fridge before baking.

Press the sausage filling into the pastry case and flatten it out. Place in a preheated oven at 170C for 45 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the pie from the oven and spread the apple and rhubarb mixture over the top. Return to the oven for the remaining 15 minutes.

Once baked, let the pie rest for five minutes before serving. It’s equally delicious served cold, so save any leftovers!

Peel, core, and chop the apples into one centimetre pieces. Place them in a shallow pan with the sugar. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the apples soften.

Chop the rhubarb into one centimetre pieces and add it to the pan with the apples. Cook until tender, then remove from heat and leave to cool.

In a large bowl, beat the condensed milk, cream, and vanilla with an electric whisk until thick and stiff, resembling clotted cream. Scrape the mixture into a freezer container or large loaf tin.

Blend the cooled rhubarb and apple mixture until smooth, then stir it into the ice cream base. Freeze until solid.

Before serving, allow the ice cream to soften for 10 minutes at room temperature. Scoop and enjoy!

Preheat your oven to 160C.

Scatter the chopped rhubarb onto a roasting tray and bake for 15 minutes, or until soft and juicy.

Lift the roasted rhubarb off the roasting tray and place in a mixing bowl with the strawberry jam (try not to add the excess rhubarb juice from roasting as you don’t the jam to be too runny).

Stir the jam and rhubarb together to create a delicious strawberry and rhubarb jam. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, and egg yolk until light and fluffy. Add the custard powder and flour, then gently mix to form a crumbly dough.

Tip the mixture out onto a clean surface and set aside a third of it for the crumble topping.

Mix the oats, sugar and extra flour into the reserved third of dough—this will be your crumble topping.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper, use a tin approximately 30 x 20 centimetres. Press the shortbread dough evenly into the tray, about one centimetre thick. Bake for 12 minutes, just enough to set the base. Remove the shortbread from the oven and spread over the jam. Scatter the oaty crumble topping evenly over the rhubarb layer.

Return to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes, until golden and crisp. Let it cool completely before slicing into bars or squares. Trust me, this is the hardest part—but it’s worth the wait!

Pete’s Top Tip: These are incredible with a cup of tea, but if you’re feeling fancy, serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a next-level dessert.

Happy baking!