Rhubarb

Yay! Spring has come and that means rhubarb- After a really long, bitterly cold winter, rhubarb's gorgeous red-pink color, and apple-y smell is a sight for sore eyes.


Sadly, Rhubarb has a short season; most of us find it in the grocery stores and farmers markets in early spring. Here in Pittsburgh I first saw it in April. If you’ve never seen it; rhubarb looks like extra long, red celery, with long fan-like leaves at the top. The leaves are actually toxic, and therefore are not edible. In fact the grocery stores remove them before putting them out to display; and at farmers markets the vendors often cut off the leaves before handing them to you.

Rhubarb is really very tart. Think way under-ripe blueberry. According to my mom, back when she was a little match-girl, she used to break off a rhubarb stalk, dip it in sugar, and chomp on it like that; then she would head out and wail on the city’s meanest bullies (love her). Apparently rhubarb grows abundantly in the UK, and along the streets of my mom’s old Glasgow neighborhood. I have never grown it myself, because I don't think it would do well in containers, but I have heard that it practically grows itself. Although my mom could eat it raw, most of us would not find that experience pleasant... but this is where the fun comes in

So far this season, I have not had the time to make my normal strawberry-rhubarb pie. But I can’t resist buying it whenever I see it standing alone, being passed by people who don’t know what they are missing. So because I didn’t have the time to make a pie crust, but still wanted the tangy-tart-sweetness of the rhubarb- I made rhubarb compote. 

Compote sounds like a scary word, at least to me. I think of lots of chopping, lots of spices, boiling hot liquids, etc. but this rhubarb compote has 4 ingredients. Rhubarb, sugar, a splash of lemon juice and fresh ginger. I promise its delicious and so easy to make.

3 cups of chopped rhubarb (1 inch cuts)

½ cup sugar (I used normal white granulated)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger

Splash of lemon juice

Chop your rhubarb, (just like celery) into chunky 1 inch pieces. Compote should have texture and chunks, you don’t want smooth. Rhubarb has long stringy fibers running vertically through the stalk, make sure to cut those. 

Throw them into a medium saucepan (over no heat), along with the sugar. It will seem like a lot of sugar, but remember rhubarb is really tart. Let your rhubarb and sugar sit, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20min (OFF THE HEAT). the sugar will draw out the juice within the rhubarb, which will create enough liquid to boil the fruit in.

After 15min or so, turn on your heat under the saucepan. Set it to medium/medium-high. Don’t walk away and leave your fruit, the temperature/consistency needs to be observed. If it really seems too dry, add an 1/8 cup of water. Let your mixture bubble and break down. 

You can smash a few pieces here and there, but remember we want a little chunk. It should thicken nicely in about 7-10mins. And it will thicken even farther after it cools. Take the compote off the heat and mix in your ginger and tiniest splash of lemon juice. I like a strong ginger flavor, but if you don’t you can omit it entirely, or add less.

Rhubarb compote is fantastic with vanilla ice cream, waffles, toast, pound-cake, with yogurt, cake, scones; the applications are both endless and delicious. It will keep for about 1 month (if it lasts that long) in an airtight container in the fridge. Just warm it up in the microwave or on the stove top.

Rhubarb compote is also a fun and appreciated gift. I love giving pint sized jars full of rhubarb compote to friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc.

Enjoy!

m