Rhubarb

[JSD]

Does anyone have any ideas for using rhubarb other than pie?  I love rhubarb pie, but last year we got pretty fat from rhubarb pie (all the butter!)

[heyjude]

My father grew huge stands of rhubarb when I was a kid and my mother cooked it all(except for the leaves,of course). The favorite was pie, with or without fresh strawberries, but we also ate sauce that she canned like applesauce. It's great plain, baked with pork chops, on ice cream, or on hot Cream of Wheat. Most uses take lots of sugar, but at least the sauce doesn't add fat.

[Sandra Levine]

I made a rhubarb sorbet a few weeks ago -- very unusual and delicious.  I stewed the rhubarb with a little water, measured the resulting puree and added about 1/3 the amount of sugar and froze in the ice cream maker.

[Niall]

My mum used to make some very good rhubarb jam; just straight rhubarb jam, the obvious with apple, but also with blackberries.. that worked well. We also used to just get stewed rhubarb with custard, and rhubarb flavoured creamed rice.

I've also heard that it goes well with spinach... but i haven't actually tried it.

[mamster]

I made a rhubarb cake from Nigella Lawson's book How to Be a Domestic Goddess.  It had a nice, moist texture thanks to a cup of full-fat yogurt, and if I had increased the rhubarb by about 50%, it would have been really great.  In fact, maybe I'll make another one with extra rhubarb this weekend.

Of course, the cake isn't any more low-cal than the pie, so I don't know if this helps.

[Malawry]

The Washington Post food section did a feature on rhubarb a few weeks ago. It's no longer archived online (I just checked. Archives are only free for two weeks.) But you might be able to find the info at your library, or decide it's worthwhile to pay for the articles online. They did two stories, one about sweet dishes and one about savory ones.

My partner's childhood springtime ritual involved going to the garden after school, selecting a couple stalks of rhubarb, pouring a dish of sugar, and repeatedly dunking and eating the stalk.

[JSD]

Thanks everyone.  Yesterday I made rhubarb upside down cake from Jane Brody (Good Food Gourmet) and it was pretty good.  I thought for sure it would be a disaster because it was so liquidy, but it turned out fine, and of course the color is nice.

[Wilfrid]

You might try putting "rhubarb fool" into a recipe search engine.  This is a dish in which rhubarb is combined with cream and refrigerated overnight.  I have certainly made it in the past, but don't have precise instructions at my fingertips.

[JSD]

Wilfred, regarding the rhubarb fool: Is the rhubarb cooked before the cream is added?  Is anything added besides sugar?

[Steve Klc]

Don't forget Dorie Greenspan's version of Pierre Herme's "Strawberry Rhubarb Soup" on p. 52 of Desserts by Pierre Herme--which utilizes an interesting poaching technique: rhubarb in a plastic bag filled with strawberry juice and a bit of sugar, gently simmered in water for about 20 minutes.

They add a scoop of strawberry ice cream and some whipped cream or creme fraiche to the dish--but you could do a fat-free sorbet of yogurt or fromage blanc (my preference with this type of soup) and be completely fat-free.

Of course, fat is good and one of the reasons why desserts can be so complex and fulfilling.  But both the yogurt and fromage blanc are very good alternatives nonetheless.

[Wilfrid]

JSD, yes the rhubarb is cooked, along with some grated fresh ginger root.  Some of the juice is stirred into the cream along with the rhubarb chunks.  You want it the right sort of consistency that a few hours of refrigeration (overnight prefreably) should "set" it.  It will go a bit pink, of course, from the juice.  I assume some sugar has gone in at the time you cooked the rhubarb.

Hope that helps - it's a while since I made it, but it's refreshing for summer.

[Jim Dixon]

I love rhubarb, too, especially becasue it's only around for a short time. When I was a kid my mother made pie, of course, but we also ate a lot of it just cooked with a bit of water and sweetened with sugar.

Lately I've been roasting rhubarb. Cut it into short pieces (bite-sized, about 1/2-3/4 inch), toss with olive oil, and spread in a single layer on a sheet pan. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes or until it's tender. Eat warm or cool, sprinkled with sugar to taste.

The nice thing about roasting is that the rhubarb keeps it's shape. The flavor of the olive oil adds another interesting dimension.

Jim

[SobaAddict70]

Craftbar has a ricotta cheesecake served with a scoop of rhubarb sorbet and a tablespoon of rhubarb compote.

Works wonders for me.  

[B Edulis]

I can't wait to try a rhubarb cake. I made a rhubarb pie recently and was a little disappointed -- I think I like it better with strawberries.

The Jean George cookbook has a recipe for rhubarb soup that has no fat and only three ingredients: rhubarb, sugar, and vanilla beans. You simply cook them together, remove the split beans (1/2 a bean per serving!) and mash the rhubarb. You can add strawberries, sorbet, or a dollup of something rich and creamy -- whipped, sour, fraiche or ice. Even with that, I think less rich than pie.

[tommy]

had rhubarb with monkfish liver recently.  the sweetness of the rhubard nicely offset the utter disgustingness of the liver.  

[Jinmyo]

tommy, you didn't care for the monkfish liver? Or you're joking?

Where was this? The combination sounds intertesting?

[tommy]

tommy, you didn't care for the monkfish liver? Or you're joking?

Where was this? The combination sounds intertesting?

it was, interesting.  very strong, that's for sure.  this was at Esca in NYC.  one of batali's restaurants.

[Wilfrid]

It was disgusting?  I would say delicious, and I would place the flavor curiously between foie gras and shad roe.  Mmmmm!

[Jinmyo]

Every time I hear anything about Esca I get very hungry. But it's a long walk from here.

[tommy]

well, disgusting was a strong word.  it was probably more facsinating than anything.  and yes, it was just like fishy liver.  who knew?

[Wilfrid]

I know there was a discussion of monkfish liver somewhere on the Borad and suggestions of where to buy it.  Now, if only the search engine worked...

[B Edulis]

You can get monkfish liver from Alex's Blue Moon at the farmart -- Tribeca on Saturdays and Union Square on Wednesdays.

I think it's delicious!

[Wilfrid]

Thanks.  I must try to get over to Tribeca one Saturday.

[JSD]

I'm baking a rhubarb pie even as I type!  I thought about making a strawberry rhubarb pie ( I have 1/2 flat of strawberries in the fridge) but I like strawberries best as is.

[sashae]

Actually made this pie this past weekend, using a bit more butter and a bit less shortening in the crust... turned out fabulously.  I like it a bit better than a normal strawberry-rhubarb, as the tartness of the blackberries really add something else.

good stuff!

-s