Amazing vegan crumble topping....

This is, in fact, rhubarb crumble, but the toppings look pretty similar...

My husband suggested last Sunday that we should make a crumble together; he insisted, in fact! I was to prepare the fruit and soya custard, and he would mix up the topping then let me get on with putting it together. I chose about 7 Pink Lady apples and a pineapple, and the whole thing made 8-10 good-sized portions. It was without doubt, the tastiest crumble yet to emerge from our little kitchen, and I grabbed my notebook fast to write down the recipe before it was forgotten. There are some seriously nutrient-rich ingredients involved here, such as hemp flour with its omega oils and pumpkin seeds with minerals such as zinc and B-vitamins. If you think that addition of sugar as a sweetener spoils its otherwise ultra-healthy credentials, you could try xylitol, date syrup or suchlike for a more natural alternative. The photo of the crumble is not actually the one we made, as it got eaten before I could get a pic; it's Gingery Rhubarb Crumble, which is slightly different, but looks quite similar on top.


To the prepared (and pre-cooked fruit) add this topping: (1 cup=250ml)
1 cup jumbo oats
1 cup porridge oats, partly ground
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup ground pumpkin seeds
1 cup hemp flour
2 cups demerara or other raw cane sugar, ground to the consistency of caster sugar
50ml extra-virgin olive oil

• Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl
• Rub in the olive oil
• Mix in a little water; just enough for the mixture to start to stick together
• Spread on top of the fruit in a large rectangular baking dish
• Bake at 200C until the top is just starting to brown
• This crumble is really delicious served with custard made from soya milk, and, as my husband pointed out, means the dessert contains all four vegetable sources of protein: seeds, nuts, grains and pulses!