Rhubarb: you really should love it

Rhubarb, freezing Mongolia's gift to the world, is a nutritious spring tonic full of much needed Vitamin C and hard to find potassium. Plus, like celery stalks, rhubarb stalks are composed of so much water, they're nearly calorie free. And they're oh so easy to prepare.

Yes, okay, they're bitter. That's easily and quickly remedied with honey, brown sugar, currants or raisins or of course strawberries (which all add sweetness) and/or fragrances like vanilla, rose or orange flower water. And sometimes you want a tart bitter taste to compliment a very sweet or salty one. So don't overlook rhubarb right now.

Here's what you can make of it:
Rhubarb Chutney: two versions
My favorite for serving with roast chicken or grilled swordfish or rice and beans or on toast atop mascarpone.

Simpler one, like a confit
1 lb rhubarb, woody base trimmed off, stalks washed and diced
3/4 c light brown sugar
1/2 cup raspberry vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dried currants
1" fresh ginger root, peeled and grated or minced
In a heavy non-aluminum pt, combine vinegars and sugar. Boil over medium heat until bubbles are thick and dark, maybe 12-15 minutes, Lower heat, stir in ginger, rhubarb, currants and cinnamon. Cook 5 minutes or until rhubarb is soft.  Pour into a ceramic bowl and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. Serve at room temperature.  Pour into a glass jar if you want to use it within a week and refrigerate.

More flavors added including chili
1 tbs corn oil
1 serrano chili, seeded and diced
1 sm red onion, diced
1 1/2" piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated or minced
1 lb rhubarb stalks, trimmed, washed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 cup cashew nuts halves or pieces, lightly toasted
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 lemon, juice of
1 lime, juice of
Heat oil in large heavy gauge saucepan over medium heat. Add chili, onion and ginger. Sauté until onion is soft and translucent, maybe 5 minutes. Add rhubarb, currants, and cashews and cook over medium/low heat for 2 minutes.  Add spices, sugar and citrus juices, Stir to blend. Cook over medium heat 10-15 minutes until chutney thickens. (It may spatter as it gets hot so be careful.) Cool to serve.

Oven Braised rhubarb to put over yogurt or ice cream
 

1 ½ lb. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces on an angle

1 cup fresh orange juice

¼ cup honey

½ tsp. kosher salt

8 green cardamom pods

2 star anise

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

1 ½" piece ginger, peeled and thickly sliced crosswise

Yogurt or vanilla ice cream, for serving

Heat oven to 400°. Mix together rhubarb, orange juice, honey, salt, cardamom, star anise, vanilla bean and seeds, and ginger in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Bake, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender, 14–16 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Serve over yogurt or ice cream, if you like.

Rhubarb Sauce for, say, chicken

8 thin stalks rhubarb, trimmed, washed and diced
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp maple syrup (genuine)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tsp orange flower or rose water
2 star anise,
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 green cardamom pods crushed or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt
1 1/2" piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
Put everything into a medium sized heavy-gauge saucepan, cover and cook over medium heat 30 minutes until mixture is as thick as jam. Stir and remove from heat. This is now ready to go over chicken you want to roast or bake.*

*For my trial run with this, I used 4 large chicken thighs. I sprinkled them lightly with my berbere spice mix and put them skin side down in a saute pan with about 1/2" corn oil when the oil was very hot. I browned the chicken for 12 minutes, flipped it and cooked it another 5. Then I removed the chicken from the oil, put it on a small baking dish and poured the rhubarb on top, spreading it around. I covered the dish and baked the chicken at 400º for 30 minutes.  I liked the results and am sharing them tonight for confirmation or criticism.

Rhubarb Crisp
Heat oven to 350º.


2 lbs rhubarb stalks, trimmed, washed and coarsely shopped
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3/4 cup if you like "sweet")
1/2 cup dark raisins
2" piece ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp rose water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
Juice of a lime
Combine all ingredients, well blended, in a 9" round pie plate or baking dish.
For the topping:
In a medium sized bowl combine the following:
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose non bleached white flour
pinch salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Combine these with your hands to make clumps. Distribute the clumps across the top of the rhubarb. There will be air spaces and that's okay. The juice will bubble up through them. Bake at 350º about 40-45 minutes or until top is nicely browned and the rhubarb has bubbled up through it.  Serve warm with vanilla or ginger ice cream.