As symbols of rebirth and renewal, eggs are closely associated with many springtime holidays and an integral part of the traditional Passover table. There’s the egg on the Seder plate and the hard-cooked eggs dipped in salt water, as well as the eggs in potato kugel and all the desserts, a sweet parade of nut tortes, spongecakes and flourless chocolate cake before the final matzo and prayers.
This year, though, American Seder tables may look a little different. With eggs scarce and prices either elevated or unstable, cooks may need to cut back. One of the easiest places to do that is in dessert, which lacks the symbolic weight of the rest of the meal. Its main function is pleasure — and to provide an energizing little sugar rush at the end of a long night.
So for this year, I’ve created a festive rhubarb crumble that’s egg-free, kosher-for-Passover and spring-pink. (Bonus: It’s also gluten-free and vegan.)
Although rhubarb is one of the first stalks — or technically, vegetables — to emerge after winter, harvesting may still be weeks away, depending on where you live.
Happily, crumbles are adaptable creatures. You can substitute other fruit, so long as you adjust the sugar content. For sweet cherries, berries and stone fruit, use about half as much sugar called for. For sour cherries, keep the sugar where it is.
Frozen fruit (rhubarb, berries or otherwise) works well here, too, and doesn’t have to be thawed first; just add a few minutes to the baking time. Frozen blueberries, preferably zipped up with the juice and zest of a lemon, will turn this dessert from rosy and tangy to inky and mellow.
You can use tapioca starch as thickener if you’re keeping strictly kosher for the holiday (cornstarch also works). You don’t need much really, just a few tablespoons to help the fruit bubble and condense into a syrupy, jam-like layer beneath the golden-brown topping.
And for that topping, I use almond meal and shredded coconut to replace the usual flour and oats. Then instead of butter I stir in some almond butter to hold it together, which deepens the nuttiness and gives it all a sandy, almost caky texture. Combined with the fruity filling, it makes for a soft, crowd-pleasing dessert with low-key PB&J energy. You might even find yourself wanting to make it long after the holiday has passed.
