Rhubarb

[jackal10]

Dried rhubarb strips as a garnish or sweetmeat.

Slice the rhubarb stalk lengthways into thin strips. I used a potato peeler for this.

Put onto a silpat or non-stick silicon paper. Dredge with icing (confectioners) sugar.

Put into a very low oven until dry and crisp.

[Adam Balic]

Rhubarb Khoresh is very good.

What's khoresh? Sounds Persian. Is that right?

Yes it is Persian (Khoresh ~ stew).

Everything you want to know about rhubarb

[Pan]

Thanks, Alan. Very impressive web site! The clickable online references in standard bibliographic form struck me as particularly impressive.

[snowangel]

Our local paper -- Minneapolis Star Tribune -- has small articles, featuring a couple of rhubarb recipes, three or four times a year. I guess that makes sense, because when I look around my neighborhood, 80% of the yards have at least one rhubarb plant.

From today's Taste section (including a chutney): Rhubarb recipes

[JSD]

I made a rhubarb pie yesterday. As I picked the stalks, I tore off the leaves, and then dropped them in the compost pile. Today I read this:

Rhubarb leaves are so poisonous, you shouldn't even compost them.

I have been tossing rhubarb leaves into the compost for years. Online I found pros and cons about this. One site pointed out that you won't be eating the compost, and that the oxalic acid breaks down anyway. I asked a master gardener about this and she said she composts her rhubarb leaves.

[KNorthrup]

From my Danish great grandmother.

Rhubarb Grod (the o should have a slash through it)

Cook rhubarb with a little water until very soft.

Wrap in cheesecloth or put in a strainer and let drip into pan.

Discard pulp.

Bring juice to gentle boil.

Add sugar to taste and cornstarch to thicken.

Remove from heat. Allow to stand and thicken further.

Place in bowls while still warm. Pour on very cold cream.

Some great memories of eating that in Anacortes WA.

[twodogs]

rhubarb en papillote with figs, bacon fat roasted cippolini onions, chives, chicken jus, banyuls vinegar, black pepper, honey salt and butter (foie gras fat if you happen to have it around)

use as a vegetable garnish to roasted or braised fish or meats particularly those with fat ie suckling pig or braised pork belly or broiled black cod

this is a simple garnish which will perfume the dining room for a fun tableside preperation as well as easy clean up. if you make the papillote out of foil you can cook it on the grill or in the oven dependeing on what you are serving

[Saffy]

We have tons of rhubarb in our garden, here in NZ it is usually treated as a fruit and you will find it mostly in sweet dishes.

Favs in our house are rhubarb/quince and apple crumble

Poached rhubarb on cereal in the morning ( often)

Rhubarb and cornmeal cake, to die for with creme anglaise

rhubarb and almond jalousie

rhubarb jam

and last but definately not least a rhubarb/raspberry custard tart.

I am always on the lookout for more ways to use rhubarb.

Love it!

[Hub-UK2]

Served cold with thick cream is the only true way.

I did ask for contributors to send in rhubarb recipes last year but nothing beats this simple way of eating the world's best "fruit"!

[jparrott]

Not entirely by itself, but I like to poach the rhub in weak sugar syrup until it just falls apart, then mash it with some black pepper, olive oil and diced mild chiles. Serve sparingly alongside olive-oil poached (or seared) scallops. Yum.

[JSD]

We just tried rhubarb sorbet tonight. It was good, and refreshing on such a hot day. I cooked the rhubarb with water and sugar until soft, then blended it, and refrigerated it until we were ready to freeze it, about 7 hours later. Then we froze it until it was still a little soft. Everyone liked it, but I think the addition of another flavor such as orange might have been nice. I'd definitely try this again.

[Andrew Fenton]

I made a rockin' good rhubarb fool a couple of days ago. Which I liked not only because it tasted so good (I like the combination of soft whipped cream and the austere bite of the rhubarb) but also because it gave me the excuse to walk around bellowing, "I PITY THE FOOL!" all day.

[Jim Dixon]

it gave me the excuse to walk around bellowing, "I PITY THE FOOL!" all day

But did you wear a gold dinner plate around your neck while bellowing?

At high-groove local coctail lounge Mint I tasted a rhubarb-gin drink that was very tasty...described as house-made rhubarb syrup, gin, and soda on the rocks.

Jim

[JSD]

My recipe for rhubarb sorbet called for vodka, but I left it out due to the teenager in the family. I guess depending on how much you put it, it could be sort of like a margarita or pina colada. Alcohol in it would make it harder to freeze, but I wonder how much harder?

[Jim Dixon]

I've found that about a tablespoon is right for the sorbets I make (I have a little Krups, so the unfrozen quantity of fruit and syrup is usually about 3 cups).

It does change the way it freezes, a plus for me. The sorbets are a little less granular because the water doesn't freeze as hard.

Jim

[JSD]

I used a Donvier which I liked because we didn't need any salt or ice. It makes a smaller amount, but it's not a big production like the old fashioned kind of freezer. It does have to be cranked by hand, but that's where the teenager comes in handy. I'm also thinking of making rhubarb ice cream. We often top vanilla ice cream with stewed rhubarb. I wonder if it would be better to make actual rhubarb ice cream.

[constanela]

Just got 5 or so rhubarb stalks in my CSA box. My significant other is on a diet and I don't want to tempt her with a strawberry rhubarb crisp or pie (the only rhubarb recipe in my repetoire). Does anyone have ideas for savory rhubarb recipes? I would hate to let it go to waste.

[therese]

Just got 5 or so rhubarb stalks in my CSA box.  My significant other is on a diet and I don't want to tempt her with a strawberry rhubarb crisp or pie (the only rhubarb recipe in my repetoire).  Does anyone have ideas for savory rhubarb recipes?  I would hate to let it go to waste.

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Nothing savory to offer, but I'll point out that rhubarb's flavor masks that of sweeteners like Splenda. A rhubarb compote would be a very nice sweet for her, served with either yogurt or (for breakfast) oatmeal. And it's the easiest thing in the world: chopped rhubarb, sweetener, a small amount of water all cooked until rhubarb the desired consistency (pretty brief, actually).

[evilhomer]

while i've not made this, i recently came across a recipe for a duck stuffed with rhubard and ginger - i'll check it out when i get home, i'm quite certain it was from jaime oliver.

[ludja]

...

Nothing savory to offer, but I'll point out that rhubarb's flavor masks that of sweeteners like Splenda. A rhubarb compote would be a very nice sweet for her, served with either yogurt or (for breakfast) oatmeal. And it's the easiest thing in the world: chopped rhubarb, sweetener, a small amount of water all cooked until rhubarb the desired consistency (pretty brief, actually).

←

One could also think of using the compote as a tarter/spicier replacement in dishes where you might use applesauce-- with porkchops, potato pancakes or in a potato-sausage or poutry hash.

Hmmm.... cream or goat cheese on a slice of good bread with some compote on top also sounds good.

Edited April 29, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Ktepi]

I've been waiting for the fresh rhubarb to show up at the Farmers Market here to try this, so it isn't road-tested -- but I've been thinking that rhubarb could fill the place of pomegranate or tamarind in Persian and Thai recipes, respectively. It's not going to be exactly the same, of course, but the tartness is similar ... it seems like it would be somewhat like substituting lime for lemon. A change, but a good way to go through limes.

What I have in mind is cooking, pureeing, and possibly straining rhubarb and then using it the way I use pomegranate juice (reduced and spiced, with fish, a Persian recipe called Platonic fish) or tamarind concentrate (with duck legs, onions, sriracha, and a little soy sauce, for instance).

[carswell]

Given rhubarb's geographic range — the rhu is thought to derive from the Ancient Greek word for the Volga River, and the plant has long been cultivated from China and Siberia to the Middle East and Western Europe — it's always struck me as odd that there are so few savoury recipes for it.

In her The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, Paula Wolfert has a recipe for a salad with raw rhubarb. From memory: Thinly slice a young stalk or two on the diagonal. Peel, quarter, seed and thinly slice a cucumber. Combine the rhubarb and cuke in a bowl and salt lightly. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then rinse and drain. Meanwhile, rinse and spin a bunch of arugula. Shred some fresh mint leaves; you'll want about 1/2 cup. Combine the ingredients and dress with a little lemon juice. Paula serves it alongside salmon filet poached in olive oil. She's also said it's great with roast guinea hen.

I make a pale-pink sauce for fish from white wine, shallots, rhubarb and cream; it's especially good with striped bass. I also have an English recipe (untried by me) for a rhubarb-flavoured béchamel sauce to be served with mackerel. The LCBO's Food and Drink had a pretty good recipe for pork chops with rhubarb, scallions and orange a while back. I've also taken that idea and run with it: shrimp with rhubarb, scallions, ginger, garlic, white wine and basil. Say the word if you'd like the details for any of these preps.

I've also been meaning to adapt some Indian recipes. This one, for example. And it's always struck me that rhubarb might make a killer chutney or spicy pickle.

You should also check out The Rhubarb Compendium, which has a few savoury recipes under the Miscellaneous Rhubarb Things and Rhubarb Salads links.

Please report back if you turn up anything interesting. This is a subject that has long intrigued me.

Edited April 29, 2005 by carswell (log)

[peppyre]

This is a recipe that my mom found in an English gardening mag last week. Of course we had to try it. Take equal amounts (weight) rhubard and sweet potatoe and bake with fresh savory, salt and pepper. I think my mom added a squeeze of lemon too. We baked it for about an hour and it was fabulous. So very different but so very very good.

[Chufi]

Khorest with Rhubarb (persian meat stew):

Saute 2 sliced onions in butter. Add 2,5 pound of chopped braising beef and brown. Add a couple of strands of saffron, 1 1/2 cup of light stock, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Slowly simmer for 1 hour.

chop up 1 bunch of parsley and a couple of sprigs of mint, and add to the stew. Simmer for 30 minutes or longer, until the meat is tender.

Cut up 5 stalks of rhubarb and add them to the stew towards the end of the cooking time, cook for 20 minutes longer.

(this is adapted from Nesta Ramazani's Persian Cooking. She makes it with lamb)

[ludja]

...

In her The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, Paula Wolfert has a recipe for a salad with raw rhubarb. From memory: Slice a young stalk or two on the diagonal. Peel, quarter, seed and slice a cucumber. Combine the rhubarb and cuke in a bowl and salt lightly. Set aside for 10-15 minutes, then rinse and drain. Meanwhile, rinse and spin a bunch of arugula. Shred some fresh mint leaves; you'll want about 1/2 cup. Combine the ingredients and dress with a little lemon juice. Paula serves it alongside salmon filet poached in olive oil. She's also said it's great with roast guinea hen.

...

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Good memory! The only other tip (and I think it might be important) is to slice the rhubarb and cucumber very thinly, with a knife or a mandolin-type slicer. This sounds like a terriffic accompaniement to salmon.