Ah rhubarb!  The vegetable that is the sure sign that summer has arrived.

That’s right. A vegetable. Yes, I know, we use it in jams and in pies. But it is still a vegetable.

My parents always had some in the back row of the garden. Not just any rhubarb but regal rhubarb from the governor general’s gardens. I don’t think it tastes better but sounds better when I make something that includes rhubarb. We never really ate much of it, even though it grew there in abundance.

Believe it or not, rhubarb is gaining in popularity in the culinary industry. Thanks to the trend of traditional cooking and returning to the classics of way back when, rhubarb is back with a vengeance!

Rhubarb grows without any maintenance and it resists very well to our climate.  It’s a very old plant, which can be harvested up to twice a year.  We only eat the green and red stalks (which are called the petiole) because the leaves of the rhubarb, though they look harmless, are very toxic, even deadly.

Rhubarb is perfect in jam.  All you have to do is cut the stalks into half-inch pieces and cook with lots of sugar. I personally really like cutting them in four-inch sections and then caramelizing them with sugar in a frying pan. When they are cooked and really tender, I lay them out on a cookie sheet, I spread a piece of rolled-out pastry on top and I brush the pastry with egg yolk.  Then I place the same pan in the oven at 425 F for 15 minutes or just until the pastry turns golden. I take it out of the oven and place a plate upside down on top of it.  In one quick movement, I turn the whole thing over and voila! I have a rhubarb pie, “tart” style!

Here’s another version: Take 4-inch sections of caramelized rhubarb. Cook squares of commercial flaky pastry by following the directions on the package. Once the pastry is good and golden, cut it on the thickness so as to have a platform which you can then garnish with rhubarb.  Close it all up and serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped creamed!

Try this out - rhubarb coulis: rhubarb, brown sugar, aged balsamic, berries, and sparkling wine. Just mix together, reduce, puree and serve over your cheesecake or tart.

Although we are mostly used to seeing rhubarb in desserts, flans and jams, it is also really great served with pork, poultry, fish and liver paté. It can also be used as an appetizer with shredded carrot, cucumbers, tomatoes and cheese. And rhubarb freezes quite well, raw or cooked, in little pieces.  Freeze them in plastic bags.

Rhubarb was and is still used in professional kitchens in many ways that the average eye would never recognize, such as in sorbets, drinks, jellies, mousses and foams. I also like to make a simple syrup (equal portions water and sugar) and reduce with rhubarb, then freeze liquid in ice cube trays and serve in your favourite summer cocktail.

So there you go! You have a few different ways to prepare rhubarb. By the way, just dipping the stem of this vegetable in sugar is very tasty!

And what about you, how do you like to eat your rhubarb? Let us know!

Warren

Keywords : how to cook rubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb coulis, vegetable

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