Its time to get wild about Rhubarb!
I am one of those people that finds the idea of strawberry and rhubarb pie a total waste of fossil fuel, manual labor, hydration and cultivation. Someone out there likes it, but that ain’t me. I have enjoyed the vegetable all other ways and totally dug it- pickled a la mode Simpatica, turned into a mostard, simmered and stirred into yogurt, as a soda and baked ten ways from Tuesday. Here is my favorite application…
Crisp For Two, Seasonal
*1 Fuji apple (or Melrose in the fall), peeled and diced
1/4 cup sugar (or Splenda)
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar to taste (or Splenda blend)
1 teaspoon fresh ground ginger
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Buy two totally adorable ovenproof bowls that feel good cradled in the palm of your hand, like the fuzzy bottom of a warm puppy. Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir apples, rhubarb, ginger, white sugar and vanilla bean paste. Divide into your two bowls. In another bowl, sift flour, brown sugar and baking soda together. Cut butter in, then add oats and pecans. It should be clumpy. Sprinkle generously over the top of the rhubarb mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until you go batty from the fabulous aroma. Serve with a dollop of sweetened vanilla bean yogurt if you dig that kind of thang.
Notes:
*I vary my companions to this basic crisp all year long, thanks to the miracle of a freezer.
I firmly believe that red raspberries are the absolute soul mate for rhubarb, not strawberries. Call me a heathen, but that warm, sensual nose of a raspberry mellows the acidity of the vegetable, and it plays on the tongue so much more pleasurably.
In the Fall, I go bonkers for Melrose apples- can’t get enough of ‘em! They caramelize like floral candy and are a delight in this dish, if not as a stand alone dish.
I love rhubarb. Do you have more recipes with it?
Artur, thanks for reading and for leaving a note.
I did play around this summer with Rhubarb soda, had a nice pickled version, alongside a mostard at a fine dining hall called Simpatica, and made my annual Raspberry Rhubarb Custard Pie. I will be glad to email you the pie recipe privately f you wish. I don’t plan to post it, as I will be too busy this summer with school for much baking at home.
The soda was basically a simple syrup with rhubarb, lemon and some spearmint, strained and then blended with carbonated water. It was light, fizzy and fun. It works with frozen rhubarb as well if you have any stashed away. I’d do about three cups of rhubarb, diced small, two cups water, one cup sugar, some lemon zest and mint thrown in during the last five or so minutes of simmering- the rhubarb should just melt into the syrup. I’d strain it off and let it chill.
Thanks again for writing, and please tell me how you found my site.
Cheers,
Jen