My mother, who is a great jam maker, was raving over a recipe for rhubarb chutney that I had to try. Rhubarb with sambal! I made two jars and used up the surplus in these spicy rhubarb bars.

Would that work?

The recipe called for ginger and sambal. That rhubarb goes well with ginger – well, my mothers jam had convinced me of that already. And the combination of rhubarb and sambal – the fiery Indonesian chili paste – sounded adventurous but plausible – why not: I love Emping Blado, which is addictive because of the sticky sweet and fiery syrup that covers it, and there is the chocolate with chili that is extremely good. Thinking about it, I could come up with many more examples; but would it work as a filling for a crumbly bar as well? (spoiler: oh, yes it does.)

The resulting concoction isn’t hot and fiery at all; rather, it’s a thick sweet-and-sour rhubarb with ginger and *something* that gives it a kick, and it’s really good. As a chutney it can be served with pork, ham or with a paté.

Making the chutney

Cut the rhubarb stalks and the apple (peeled) into small chunks. Combine the vinegar, butter, sambal, sugar, and ginger in a tall pan, and stir over heat to dissolve the sugar. I used sambal manis, as this is a sweeter, milder version, but it still has some punch; add more – or less – if you prefer. Add the rhubarb, raisins and apple; those last two bring the pectin that is needed to thicken the chutney. Bring to the boil. Reduce by simmering this for about one hour over low heat, without a lid. Stir often. (In the last 15 minutes, it will thicken and and if you don’t stir, it will try to spit hot globs of sticky pink rhubarb out of the pan, so don’t wear your new white blouse making this.)

Prepare two jam jars with screw top lids by covering lids and jars with boiling water. Take them out and leave them to dry on a towel.

And the dough

Put butter, flour and sugar in a bowl and quickly combine into a dough using your hands. Divide in two. Cut a piece of baking paper into a strip that fits your baking tin or ovenproof dish, sides overhanging. Press one half into the tin. Bake this in a pre-heated oven of 180° C for 20 minutes. When it’s done, try to be ready with the rhubarb chutney as well.

Chutney and bars

Pour the hot rhubarb into the two waiting jars. Seal with cellophane and leave to cool. Put lids on and store upside down.

Carefully pour the rest of the hot rhubarb chutney over the hot, baked bottom; use as much as makes a layer of about 1 cm high. Scatter the other half of the dough in rough crumbles over the hot rhubarb, and return the tin to the hot oven. Bake for another 20 minutes.

When the top has turned a light golden brown, take out the baked rhubarb crumble and leave to cool on a wire rack. After about 15 minutes, grab the baking paper and use it to lift the whole out of the tin, to cool completely on the wire rack. Cut into bars when completely cool.