Pear & Ginger Crumble - serves 8

Jamie Oliver is my biggest food hero and when i got a chance to attend his Ministry of Food Course, i jumped at it! In today's class we learnt to make this pear and ginger crumble. Never have i paired (dont mind the pun) pear and ginger together, but it actually works, really well. This crumble is extremely easy and is a real show stopper. Served with my (well jamie's) simple custard makes any cold night bearable.

Ingredients:

150g Plain Flour
60g Castor Sugar
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
75g Butter, Cubed and cold
For the Filling
100 ml water
4 Ripe Pears
5 Pieces Stem Ginger (in syrup or glace ginger)
50g Castor Sugar
Juice and Zest of 1 Lime

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200ºC 

Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar, salt and ginger. 

Cut the cold butter into chunks and rub it into the flour mix with your hands until you get a mixture that looks a bit like fine breadcrumbs. This is the crumble topping. 

To make the filling, boil the water and sugar together, then carefully drop in the pear chunks and simmer gently for a couple of minutes. 

Add the chopped ginger and the lime zest and juice to the pan and stir. Spoon the mixture into one large ovenproof dish or four small ones. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top of the fruit, piling it high in the middle of the dish and leaving space at the edge for the caramel to bubble up. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the pears are cooked and bubbling and the crumble is golden on top. Serve with custard or a dollop of crème fraîche with lime zest grated over, if you like. 

Original Recipe - http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/best-ever-fruit-crumble/#iwLPTpmJkJYCTXfj.99