Rue de Rivoli, Rue de Richelieu, Rue de Renne……….
Ok, confession………. when I was a kid, I stole stalks of rhubarb out of my neighbor’s garden and ate them raw, and not just once, many times……
So by now, if you know me at all, you can follow the thread and figure out how I arrived at the title of today’s post – if indeed you know that I am just a tad bit crazy, and you know where I’ve been recently……
Yesterday’s post got me going on that much-maligned, but “popular right now” ingredient and harbinger of Springtime, Rhubarb. (Yes, I am all excited today because it is going to be the first day in 2013 of 70F weather- so my mind is churning and burning right now. And, no, I have not had too much coffee). In fact, my friend, Liz Whitcher, who is a phenomenal gardener in Falmouth, MA, once asked me to give her some ideas for Rhubarb recipes. Once someone asks me something like this, it forever sticks in the back of my mind and so, on a day like today, Liz and recipes for her, spring forth (no pun intended). And so, today’s post is dedicated to you, Liz……
Rhubarb, aka, Rheum rhabarbarum……. people dismiss this rhizome because of its very short season and relative obscurity, but as a result of my early childhood shenanigans in the neighbor’s garden, I came to appreciate the tart and tangy, nothing-else-like-it flavor. Rhubarb is actually a relative of the garden sorrel and therefore a vegetable. But, its application can be highly varied and valuable and, because I came to love the instantaneous puckering and mouth-watering affect of partaking long, long ago, I have always been interested in rhubarb recipes. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Simroe – just 50-some years late.
I for one, am very glad that there are those perennial enthusiasts and creative people who have taken us well beyond the classic Strawberry-Rhubarb pie. (I’m not knocking the pie, don’t get me wrong.) In fact, the array of recipes to be found is quite considerable and cleverly effective. I am planning on trying the Barbecue Sauce, shown below, tonight on a Pork Tenderloin. And, if I can get a good supply of the Rhubarb, the KPS Lax team may indeed get the Melissa Clark Big Crumb Cake in the form of cupcakes for today’s game. I am also pumped to make the Jam – it sounds so awesome to me!
Consider these few recipes, and then go off and search, as I am doing. There is lots of fun to be had out there. I am willing to bet you will be tempted to become a convert, if not all-out-lover after one or more of these. You will note that in most cases, the rhubarb is considered to call for a substantive counter-point – that is to balance out the tartness – but too much sugar makes it cloying, and so, elements like ginger and lemon can be used. I made the Big Crumb Cake and I added in the zest of an entire lemon – as the crumb topping is very sweet and I think the lemon just adds a nice note and is still complimentary to the ginger. I think the lemon zest can be very effectively applied in most rhubarb concoctions – try it out and see what you think. And, in the case of the Ice Cream, well, I can’t think of many things that a good caramel doesn’t enhance!
courtesy Jane Ward
Rhubarb and Ginger Jam Recipe – courtesy Huff Post Taste
(makes six 8-ounce jars)
Ingredients:
3 pounds of trimmed rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated fresh ginger
Combine the rhubarb, two types of ginger, and sugar in a large saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to bubble. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring frequently, until jam thickens. Adjust heat accordingly to maintain a steady simmer and stir often during the thickening process to prevent scorching. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, skimming and discarding the foam that collects on the top of the mixture.
After 20 minutes, test for doneness. Turn off the heat under the jam and take the temperature of the fruit mixture using a candy/jelly thermometer. The thermometer should read about 220 degrees when the jam is done. Alternately, place a small spoonful of jam on a plate and place the plate in the freezer for 35-45 seconds. Remove the plate and run your finger over the top of the jam. The surface should “wrinkle” in your finger’s wake. If it does, the jam is done.
Ladle the mixture into hot, sterilized 8-ounce jam jars leaving about 1/4-inch of space between the jam and rim of the jar. Cover with lids and rings and process the jars for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. The lids should vacuum seal shortly after removing the jars from the processing bath. If you do not hear the telltale “pop” of some or any of the lids, return the unfinished jars to the boiling water and process for an additional five minutes.
Place the sealed jars on the thickness of a kitchen towel and allow to rest and cool completely overnight. Preserves will keep for at least a year in the sealed jars if kept in a moderate temperature.
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courtesy Melissa Clark
RECIPE
Rhubarb Ice Cream with a Caramel Swirl
- TOTAL TIME
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 and 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1 and 1/2 cups sour cream
- 3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Preparation
- 1.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, vanilla bean seeds and its pod. Simmer gently until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod and return mixture to a bare simmer.
- 2.
- Place the yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in hot milk mixture. Scrape the custard back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
- 3.
- In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb with 1 cup sugar. Simmer until rhubarb is just tender and has begun releasing its juices, but has not started to fall apart, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to a bowl. Continue to simmer the juices until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Pour the syrup over the rhubarb. Cool completely.
- 4.
- In a clean, dry and preferably nonstick skillet, sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over medium heat. When it begins to melt and lightly color, sprinkle in 2 more tablespoons and start swirling pan to help evenly distribute sugar. Add the final 2 tablespoons and cook, swirling pan until all the sugar has melted. Let cook, swirling occasionally, until the sugar syrup caramelizes and turns dark brown. Pour in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons water (stand back; it may splatter). Simmer, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula until smooth. Cool completely.
- 5.
- Pour the custard base into an ice cream machine and churn. Add rhubarb compote for the last minute of churning.
- 6.
- Scrape a quarter of the caramel into the bottom of a freezer-proof quart container. Top with a quarter of the ice cream. Repeat layering until all of the caramel and ice cream has been used, ending with the ice cream. Freeze until firm for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.
- YIELD
- One scant quart
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photo courtesy Local Kitchen- Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce – courtesy Local Kitchen Blog.com
INGREDIENTS- 3 lbs rhubarb (about 9 cups), trimmed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 medium red onion (size of a baseball), diced (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 cups raisins, chopped (about 3/4 lb)
- 1 medium orange habañero pepper, seeded and minced (reserve seeds to adjust heat at the end)
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp sea salt
METHODS
- If canning, prepare canner, jars and lids.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Lower heat and boil gently, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened, about 30-45 minutes (a splatter screen is highly recommended here). Once the fruit has softened enough to crush easily (about 20 minutes), blend the sauce with an immersion blender, or by transferring to a blender or food processor.
- When sauce has reached desired thickness (leave it a little thinner than you want, as it will thicken on cooling), taste and adjust seasonings (add any reserved chile seeds here to bump up the heat).
- Ladle hot sauce into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Allow to rest in the water bath for 5 minutes, then remove (keeping upright) and allow to cool completely before labeling and storing.
Yields about 3 pints of a thick sauce, about 4 pints for a thin sauce.
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the smitten kitchen rhubarb crumb cake as recommended in yesterday’s post
Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt Torte – courtesy Epicurious.com
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rhubarb-Frozen-Yogurt-Torte-109353
and, Google Melissa Clark’s other Rhubarb recipes
and, I’d be remiss in not including a recipe for perhaps the most famous of all Rhubarb recipes, the Strawberry-Rhubarb pie. I have made them before and I have not made this one, but I really like the recipe because it calls for tapioca and not corn starch, which I abhor in pie fillings. So, check it out:http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/grandmas-strawberry-rhubarb-pie-recipe/index.html
and, please take a look at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food-52/7-rejoicing-rhubarb-recip_b_3100981.html?utm_hp_ref=taste&ir=Taste&nci
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rhubarb-recipes/ and
epicurious has a good compendium as well.
Saveur posted an Rhubarb Upside Down Cake on Facebook today that also looks delightful. I haven’t read the recipe yet, but I will.
Well, I was greeted with a quizzical expression and look of folly when I strode into Wightman’s Farm this morning at 8:15 and asked if they had any Rhubarb. May or June I was told. Ok, I know it’s not ready locally here, but I thought it was worth a shot – they don’t grow everything they sell there, after all. I called Whole Foods in Madison and they said they have just gotten in a case. Also, the Union Square Farmer’s Market is open today and I just might take a ride in. I’ll call first because, if they don’t have any, I’ll just go to Whole Foods and spend the rest of the day in the kitchen……
Today is one of those days when I can’t figure out what to do first, but it is such a good feeling to have the windows open and a flooding of ideas and directions to go off into – and, without a COAT on (my mission in life – no coats)! So, I’m going out right now…… Have a wonderful day!
Happiness is…………….
the first new geraniums of the season in my kitchen window.
image courtesy Cooks Illustrated
Carole’s Chatter is collecting links using rhubarb today. This is a nice one. I do hope you pop over and link in. This is the link . Cheers