Rhubarb: What's in it for you?

Rhubarb is the Rodney Dangerfield of food: it doesn't get respect. So here's a salute to those almost calorie free, nutrient rich pink stalks whose tang is a picker upper for your taste buds, metabolism and meal plans. If we think of rhubarb at all, most of us think it's dessert: sweetened to the max in crisps, crumbles and pies because that's about the only way we find it presented. But rhubarb is not a fruit. It's  a vegetable--the stalks of a perennial plant that sprouts from a thick rhizome, so it can perk up the main part of a meal: as sauce for chicken, slaw, putting pink back in pork chops or with dates as chutney perfect for the holiday cheese tray. Now is the time because rhubarb is a traditional spring tonic, a food that helps the metabolism's re-set switch as we move from the lethargy of winter to the sunniness of spring.

We will not be alone in this. For at least 5,000 years, the Chinese have relied on rhubarb as medicine. Its rhizome and roots are in fact the most used herbs in all Chinese medicine, valued as much today as 5,000 years ago for curing stomach ailments, constipation and soothing burns. The almost calorie free stalks are full of crucial potassium, hard to find folic acid, vitamins C and A, water (to keep you hydrated) and fiber. Lots of medical claims are now being made but I don't know which are for real so I'm not mentioning them. I will just repeat that it's almost calorie free. And it's one of those spring vegetables that put spring in your step, literally. (see previous post about seasonal eating)

More good news: rhubarb is simple to prepare and enjoy. Plus three stalks (3-5 stalks = 1 lb) go far, so it doesn't break the bank.  Here's what I mean:

Rhubarb Currant Sauce for Spicy Chicken
this will cover 10-12 chicken thighs

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.

for the chicken: I suggest seasoning chicken with your favorite chili spice blend, Mine is Ethiopian Berbere mix which I have posted in the past. I use it on chicken thighs. I put them in hot corn oil skin side down for 10 minutes until that skin is really crisp, then flip them and put the skillet in a 425º oven 10 minutes to finish them off. Then I drain them and put them in a baking dish covered with the rhubarb sauce, and put that back in the oven at 350º just to get really warm.  Top with chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley.  Yum!!

Spring Slaw (rhubarb, radish and fennel)

Serves 2

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp orange juice  
1 tsp granulated sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper  
1 fennel bulb, trimmed so the tough outer stalks are removed
2 stalks of rhubarb  
2 large radishes, washed

In a medium bowl, mix the lemon juice with the orange juice, sugar, salt and pepper to your taste. Trim the fennel down to its small innards minus the core. Reserve its fronds.

Using a mandolin, cheese slicer or julienne gadget, slice the rhubarb, radishes and fennel into the thinnest strips you can manage and cut these in pieces. Toss them in the seasoned lemon juice to pickle them slightly.

When ready to serve, add the fennel fronds as garnish.

This was meant to be put on a fish sandwich, but it would brighten up a roasted turkey sandwich too.  And fish cakes and maybe even pulled pork on a bun.

British pork chops with rhubarb: dinner for 2

A glorious and surprisingly quick spring supper.

Serves 2 2 x 6 oz 1” thick pork chops

1 tsp fennel seed 1 tsp coriander seed ½ tsp black peppercorns ½ tsp sea salt 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp sunflower or corn oil finely grated zest and juice 1 orange,

¼ c marsala wine ½ lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut horizontally into 1 1/4” thick slices 1 tbsp honey or pure maple syrup

Score the rind of each pork chop at even intervals. Crush the fennel, coriander seeds, peppercorns and salt until smashed, but not ground to a powder. Rub most into the pork slits, saving a bit.

 In a medium/large heavy gauge skillet or frying pan, melt 1 tbsp butter with oil over a medium heat. Put pork chops scored fat side down and brown 2-3 minutes.

Flip chops to one side and cook 2 minutes, then flip to the other side and do the same. Sprinkle the remaining spice mix on top now.

Add the remaining butter and orange zest to the pan, baste the chops, and turn them over.

Pour the marsala into the pan and let bubble for a few seconds. Add the orange juice and bring to a simmer. Arrange the rhubarb around the pork and drizzle it  with honey/maple syrup. On low heat, cook 5 minutes or until pork is no longer pink inside and rhubarb is soft but still holding its shape. Turn the pork once without stirring.

Using a slotted spatula, remove pork and rhubarb from the pan and arrange on two warmed dinner plates. Increase the heat under the pan and simmer the sauce until thickened and slightly syrupy. Pour over the pork and serve, perhaps with a side of garlicky greens.

Rhubarb Chutneys with ginger or dates
On May 23rd 2014 I posted two quick recipes for truly tasty rhubarb ginger chutney (one with chili) that's perfect beside or atop grilled swordfish, a spinach fritatta or roast chicken. So here's a new chutney, with dates that should be on every cheese tray.

2” fresh root ginger, grated

1 1/4 c red wine vinegar

1 ¼ lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely chopped

½ lb pitted dates, chopped

1 c raisins

1 tbsp mustard seed

1 tbsp curry powder

1 1 /2 c light muscovado sugar

2 tsp salt

scant 2 lbs rhubarb, sliced into small chunks

1 lg or 2 med red onions, diced

Put the onions in a large pan with the ginger and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 mins. Add remaining ingredients, except rhubarb, and while stirring bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered about 10 mins until apples are tender.

Stir in rhubarb and simmer uncovered until the chutney is thick and jammy, about 15-20 mins. Remove from heat and let sit 10 mins to set up. Now you can either put it in a large serving bowl to use in a day or two, or better yet, spoon it into warm, sterilized jam jars, seal and put in a water bath for 10-15 min depending on size of jar. Label when cool. Keep for at least a month before eating.

Rhubarb Punch
a not so sugary soda for children

3 cups cut rhubarb
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c honey
1 c fresh orange juice
juice of two limes
1 c Ginger Ale
1 c Club Soda

Cook the rhubarb with the sugar and honey in 2 1/2 c water for 10 minutes on med/low heat. Puree and cool. Add remaining ingredients and chill.  Serve with crushed ice, and fresh mint leaves. Use a slit strawberry atop the glass for garnish.

Chicken Breasts with bacon/cornbread stuffing in rhubarb sauce
Dinner party for 8 (chicken pretty in pink)

8 1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts, skin on if possible
1 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp mild chili powder (your choice)
1/4 c minced fresh parsley
1 c chicken stock
1 stick/ 4 oz unsalted butter
1 lb cornbread crumbs (you'll have to make or buy some cornbread to do this)
1 lb bacon, cooked very dry and crumbled into bits
2 tbsp Herbs de Provence

2 cups rhubarb, diced (probably 5 stalks)
1 orange, sliced and seeded
1 c granulated white sugar
2 c white wine
2 c water

Make the sauce first:
Combine the rhubarb, orange, sugar, white wine and water in a saucepan and simmer until the orange slices are very soft. Purée until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve the chicken.

Make the stuffing:
Bring chicken stock and butter to a boil in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cornbread crumbs, bacon and herbs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste and set aside.

Make the dish itself:
Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly butter a baking pan big enough to hold all the chicken.
Slit the breasts lengthwise leaving a hinge on the thicker side. Lightly pound the almost halves to slightly flatten them. Divide the stuffing among the 8 split breasts, putting it on one half of each, then folding the other half over the top. Put chicken in the baking pan in one layer. Season each with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and pinch of chili.  Roast at 400º for 35 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Remove from oven and brush the rhubarb sauce over each breast to glaze it.


Of course you can also make crisps, crumbles and pies. You can put rhubarb atop panna cotta or vanilla pudding. It can be an ice cream flavor, a topping for lemon or orange sherbert and great companion for angel food or sponge cakes. It can become jam or the flavor of a simple bread pudding. In other words, there's one way or another for everyone to enjoy it.