It's Rhubarb Time!

When I was young, I used to sneak into my mother’s garden with my sister Nancy just to watch her pull a big stalk of my mother’s prized rhubarb and eat it raw right out of the garden.  Raw rhubarb is so incredibly tart, just watching her made me pucker up, squeeze my lips together and wince.  To this day, it still shocks me that she could pull that off and enjoyed herself in the process.

I love rhubarb, cooked of course, and for me it signals spring when I see it at the farmer’s market.  I love it simply stewed with strawberries and touch of sugar or made into a rhubarb upside down cake. 

Next time you pass by a big pile of rhubarb in the market and have no idea what to do with it, take a few hints from these recipes or skip straight to my favorite, this delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp!  

I have a feeling that you will be adding a whole new ingredient into your repertoire.


STRAWBERRY RHUBARB SORBET

sorbet:
3/4 pound rhubarb, about 4 cups, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 ½ pounds strawberries, about 5 to 6 cups, halved
1 ½ to 2 cups sugar

sauce:
2 cups strawberries,halved
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Cassis (optional)

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, place the rhubarb and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook until the rhubarb starts to fall apart, 3 minutes. Remove the cover, decrease the heat to medium low, and simmer the rhubarb until very tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.

Puree the rhubarb and the strawberries together in the blender until completely smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Measure the strawberry rhubarb puree. For each 4 cups of puree, measure 1 ½ cups sugar.

Pour approximately one-quarter of the strawberry rhubarb puree into a small saucepan. Add the correct amount of sugar to the saucepan and heat the pan over medium high heat until it bubbles around the edges and the sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the hot puree to the remaining puree. Refrigerate until well chilled.

Freeze the sorbet according to your particular ice cream machine

Thirty minutes before serving, for the sauce, in a bowl, toss together the strawberries, sugar and Cassis.

To serve, scoop the sorbet into serving bowls and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

WARM STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COMPOTE WITH GREEK YOGURT AND HONEY

1 pound rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups strawberries, washed and halved
1 pint Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons Greek Honey

In the meantime, trim the end from the rhubarb. Remove any green leaves. Cut the rhubarb stalks into 1-inch pieces. Mix together the rhubarb and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the strawberries and cook an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Spoon the compote into dessert dishes. Top with a spoonful of yogurt and drizzle the honey over the top. Serve immediately.

Serves 6