When the early rhubarb comes into the kitchen at the beginning of the year it gives us that little tingle of excitement.. the novelty of squash and other winter vegetables has worn off and we are craving fresh new flavours and colour!
We use rhubarb in both sweet and savoury dishes; whether it is breakfast, lunch and dinner, it will be there. Next week it will be on the dessert menu at Wild by Tart in the form of a Choux au Craquelin with nutmeg custard, poached rhubarb and a raspberry pate de bombe (thanks to James, our wonderful pastry chef) .
We love making pickled rhubarb and find it incredibly useful. It is a wonderful accompaniment to so many dishes, especially good fatty ones like a slow cooked pork belly with fennel and garlic. When spring is in full swing we like serving it with grilled mackerel and a celeriac remoulade or a peppery salad. Try blitzing Sichuan pepper and rub into your mackerel with some sea salt before grilling – excellent with the rhubarb.
350g rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
Knob ginger, sliced
200ml cider vinegar
50ml water
100g caster sugar
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
Place the vinegar, water, sugar, ginger, bay leaves, salt and pepper into a pan and heat till simmering then add the rhubarb. Simmer gently for 10 minutes then take off the heat and cool down. It will get better over time! It will keep in an air tight jar or container for months.
February, 2024
