Rhubarb, Forgotten Treasure from the Garden
Lots of people associate rhubarb with pies. More on the pies later, but there's a lot more to rhubarb than a pastry crust..
It's an exciting sauce for chicken, crocodile and seafood. It gives spice to pancakes and zing to muffins. As jam it spreads on scones, as juice it gives a boost to white rum, and it's a heavenly sauce on ice cream.
And a garden just isn't a garden without a big clump of those heart-shaped, crinkly leaves and red-tinted stalks.
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I love Food : Lensography of the Kitchen
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I seem to have a lot of lenses on food. Probably because I enjoy it so much. Once I cooked all the time for my growing children and grow they did .. they grew so big that they all left. Now they can cook for themselves, and I can cook just for the...
Cook your very first rhubarb
Impress yourself
What you need
500g - 1lb fresh rhubarb
140g - 5oz white sugar
2 vanilla pods
What you do
Get rid of all the leaves and the tougher bits on the bottom of the rhubarb. Chop the rhubarb into pieces about as long as your finger.
Heat the oven to 200C - 400F -Gas 6.
Put the rhubarb in a baking and top with the sugar.
Run a knife through the centre of the vanilla pods and place them on top of the sugar.
Cover the tin with foil and seal well. Stick it in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Take it out of the oven but leave the foil on for another 10 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.
Don't eat the leaves - only the stems
Rhubarb, Ginger and Honey
Delicious Hot or Cold
Place your chopped rhubarb in a baking dish. Keep them to a shallow layer. Without adding any liquid, bake your rhubarb in a hot oven for about fifteen minutes.
Cut up some crystallised ginger in thin slices and put them in with the rhubarb. Bake a further five minutes, then stir in a dessertspoonful of honey.
In small bowl, mix together butter, flour and 1/3 cup sugar for a crumble. Sprinkle over the rhubarb then bake a further 20 minutes
The rhubarb, ginger and honey mix is also delicious chilled, served with Greek yoghurt.
Life's Little Rhubarb Cookbook
Life's Little Rhubarb Cookbook: 101 Rhubarb Recipes (Cooking at Its Best from Avery Color Studios)
Amazon Price: $11.95 (as of 11/12/2009)
Famous chefs have paired rhubarb with chicken, fish, and meats in savory dishes. Bestwick proves how well this works in a baked chicken casserole that may inspire you to try rhubarb in other main courses.
And, understanding that today time is as precious as calories, Bestwick's dishes generally require around 30 minutes of preparation and call for 5 or less ingredients.
Rhubarb and Passionfruit Sauce
Waht a blend of flavours!
What you need
2 sticks of rhubarb
1½ tbsp water
40g - 1½oz caster sugar
1 large passion fruit
What you do
Wash the rhubarb. Cut it into 1cm - ½in pieces.
Put in a pan with water and caster sugar.
Simmer for 4-5 minutes with the lid on,
Strain the juice from the passion fruit.
When the rhubarb is cool, blend with the passion fruit juice in a food processor and serve.
Rhubarb Ice Cream Sundae
First cook your rhubarb!
What you need25g - 1oz butter
25g - 1oz caster sugar
1 lime, zest and juice only
75g - 2¾oz cooked rhubarb, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
3 large scoops vanilla ice cream
50g - 1¾oz sultanas
50g - 1¾oz almonds, chopped
What you do
Melt the butter and sugar together with the lime juice and zest. Tip in the rhubarb and cook for three minutes. It should be soft and warm by then. Add the chopped mint and set aside to cool.
Spoon a scoop of the ice cream into the base of a tall glass. Sprinkle over a third of the sultanas and nuts, and a third of the cooled rhubarb. Repeat the layering until all ingredients are used up. Stick in a mint sprig and serve straightaway.
Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie
Now we finally get to the pie. This one will knock you out.
More Rhubarb Recipes
Old Favourites and New Treats
Rhubarb: More than Just Pies
Amazon Price: $13.69 (as of 11/12/2009)
Recipes for every sort of dish from sauces and condiments to jams, soups, drinks, breads, and of course, desserts.
From beverages to quick breads, muffins to main courses-plus a large assortment of pies-these recipes will tempt you to enjoy rhubarb throughout the year.
Peach and Rhubarb Dessert
My elderly neighbour gave me this recipe. She suggested I could use tinned peaches if I had no fresh fruit, but I haven't seen a tin of peaches in a long time. They tend to be all exported these days. Her recipe also contained real oats, not the pre-cooked kind, and directed that they be soaked overnight. So I've made a slight adjustment to the oats in the recipe here.
What you need
About 500g sliced peaches
About 500g sliced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups fine sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/4 cups self-raising (all-purpose) flour
1/3 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
What you do
1. Combine fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl; add 1/4 cup flour, stirring well. Pour mixture into a 13- x-9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
2. Combine oats, brown sugar, and remaining 1 cup flour in a small bowl; cut in cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle mixture evenly over fruit filling.
3. Bake at 375° for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly.
She says to serve this dish warm with vanilla ice cream.
Wine and Dine Collection
The Epicure Group is a superb collection of recipes, wine guides and eatery reviews from the talented lensmasters at Squidoo. Don't miss Epicure for a feast of fine food!
How about you?
A funny thing happened to me on the way to the kitchen ...
I had been out all day visiting a seriously ill friend and arrived home irritable, dead-tired and generally in not too bright a mood. I didn't even wake up my computer from its stand-by sleep untill after 10.00 pm!
I dropped in at FaceBook to say goodnight to a few friends and lensmaster Spook popped up in a chat bubble to congratulate me.
Congratulate me for what?, I typed.
To my amazement, he answered
For making Lens Of The Day, of course!
I was, for once, at a loss for words. Now I'm having a glass of sparkling red wine - sadly, not rhubarb wine - and smiling as I read all the lovely comments. I'm even on the official Squidoo Lens Of The Day!
Thank you to everyone!
March 12, 2009
Like This Lens?
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Leave a note for the cook, thanks ...
ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...
One of the things I like about returning to Minnesota is the sweet treats made of rhubarb. Rhubarb Crisp and ice cream. It doesn't get any better than that.
Great lens
Thanks for sharing
Lizzy
Posted June 02, 2009
enslavedbyfaeries wrote...
Oh, yum!! I am reminded of the many summers I spent on my grandparents farm eating the most delicious homemade food. Beautiful lens! Congratulations on being blessed with a purple star. :)
Posted May 29, 2009
awelldressedbullet wrote...
Yummmmmm, Congratulations on your Purple Star Susanna! - Kathy
Posted May 29, 2009
Whatnerve wrote...
I love rhubarb pie, especially when it's a few days old and started to go runny. I'd love to grow some.
Posted May 23, 2009
Tiddledeewinks wrote...
The peach and rhubarb dessert looks delicious! I'll have to try it. I need to plant more rhubarb in my garden. I don't know where it disappeared to.
Posted May 14, 2009
Ahmady wrote...
Beautiful lens 5 stars. I love rhubarb since I was a child. A friend grows it and I harvested piles of it at Findhorn, Scotland, while on their work experience program in 2005.
Posted April 30, 2009
michellepatelle wrote...
Rhubarb Ice Cream Sundae??? Yum Yum. I want one right now.
Posted April 24, 2009
10% of my income goes to continue the work of Fred Hollows in treating avoidable blindness and improving indigenous health.Photo : Khim Rath, who can now see after a successful cataract operation, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia.
Blindness is a significant public health issue in Cambodia. Over 160,000 people are blind and an additional 20,000 become blind each year. The main cause of blindness is cataract, which can be treated by a simple 15 minute operation at an average cost of $25 (AUD$35).
Thanks for dropping by
Thanks very much for dropping by to read about the uses of rhubarb. You're more than welcome to leave a note in the guest book above and, if you're a member of Squidoo, you can also rate this lens :)It's all much appreciated, Susanna
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About Susanna Duffy
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G'day from Melbourne, Australia where I write about King Arthur, Mythology, Legendary Beasts, Ancient Rome, Books, Fairy Creatures, Australiana and Adventures in my Kitchen. I'm also a Charity Mentor and an Honorary Squidoo Angel 
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