I love rhubarb. It's been available for a while as 'forced' rhubarb, which is a beautiful pale pink. I've never dared try to force the rhubarb in my garden for fear my crop is reduced! As you can see in the photo above, it has recovered magnificently from the recent snow, thankfully.
Rhubarb is not actually a fruit but a vegetable as we eat the stalks, which should be crisp and firm. Generally speaking, the pinker the stalk, the sweeter the rhubarb. The leaves contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid and should be thrown away. As far as nutrition goes, rhubarb contains fibre, vitamin C, potassium and calcium among other nutrients.
It does have a tart flavour, which means that most people like to eat it with a little sugar, but also means that it goes beautifully with rich meats such as duck or fish like mackerel. Apparently the reason why lots of people groan when they are offered rhubarb resulted in part from the war, when sugar was scarce, and it was hard to overcome the tartness. That reluctance to eat rhubarb was passed on down the generations, which is a real shame as far as I'm concerned. If you have avoided rhubarb in the past, hopefully these ideas might pique your appetite
Sweet Rhubarb Puree
The acid in rhubarb reacts with aluminium, so cook it in a stainless steel or cast-iron pan. Put the chopped rhubarb stalks into a pan with just a splash of water. The amount of sugar depends on the rhubarb itself and your taste, but you can add more at the end if necessary. So start with about a quarter sugar by weight – usually a couple of dessert spoonfuls. Cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, and then leave to cool for a couple more minutes. Whizz it in a processor if you want a smooth puree. (If you really want the rhubarb to keep its shape, cook it in the oven instead of in a pan).
The flavour of rhubarb goes beautifully with ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, rosewater and orange, so experiment with it – adding these spices or replacing the water with orange juice while cooking.
You can use the puree, with or without stewed apples, as a base for a variety of puddings, such as crumbles, betties or pies. When it’s cooled, fold in whipped cream or Greek yoghurt to make a fool, or add to custard and then churn it in an ice-cream maker for lovely pale pink ice cream.
Savoury Rhubarb Sauce
Gently fry a finely chopped shallot in 1oz/25g of butter in a non-stick pan until transparent. Add 8oz/225g of chopped rhubarb and cook gently until the rhubarb has softened and become sauce-like. Force the mixture through a metal sieve and serve with salmon, mackerel, pork or duck. Again, try adding ginger (powder or fresh grated root) for variety.
Did you know, rhubarb grows so fast that you can actually hear it grow? The heart of rhubarb growing in Britain is Wakefield in Yorkshire. Visit Wakefield’s Rhubarb Triangle either in person or virtually on http://www.yorkshirerhubarb.co.uk/ for more about this tasty treat
Sweet Rhubarb Puree
The acid in rhubarb reacts with aluminium, so cook it in a stainless steel or cast-iron pan. Put the chopped rhubarb stalks into a pan with just a splash of water. The amount of sugar depends on the rhubarb itself and your taste, but you can add more at the end if necessary. So start with about a quarter sugar by weight – usually a couple of dessert spoonfuls. Cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, and then leave to cool for a couple more minutes. Whizz it in a processor if you want a smooth puree. (If you really want the rhubarb to keep its shape, cook it in the oven instead of in a pan).
The flavour of rhubarb goes beautifully with ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, rosewater and orange, so experiment with it – adding these spices or replacing the water with orange juice while cooking.
You can use the puree, with or without stewed apples, as a base for a variety of puddings, such as crumbles, betties or pies. When it’s cooled, fold in whipped cream or Greek yoghurt to make a fool, or add to custard and then churn it in an ice-cream maker for lovely pale pink ice cream.
Savoury Rhubarb Sauce
Gently fry a finely chopped shallot in 1oz/25g of butter in a non-stick pan until transparent. Add 8oz/225g of chopped rhubarb and cook gently until the rhubarb has softened and become sauce-like. Force the mixture through a metal sieve and serve with salmon, mackerel, pork or duck. Again, try adding ginger (powder or fresh grated root) for variety.
Did you know, rhubarb grows so fast that you can actually hear it grow? The heart of rhubarb growing in Britain is Wakefield in Yorkshire. Visit Wakefield’s Rhubarb Triangle either in person or virtually on http://www.yorkshirerhubarb.co.uk/ for more about this tasty treat
No comments:
Post a Comment