It's rhubarb full season right now, but getting these big stalks in market gardening baskets can be wary. It must be said that this vegetable from the same family as sorrel and buckwheat (yes!), Which is cooked like a fruit, is quite cleavage: many hate it because of its very pronounced acidity. If you are not a fan, choose your pink rhubarb, sweeter and sweeter. Conversely, the greener its stems, the more character it has. Here are two recipes to accommodate it ... and change from the classic pie.
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Rhubarb kompot
Perfect for an aperitif, kompot is a traditional non-alcoholic drink from Eastern Europe, prepared with dried or fresh fruit. Scented with rhubarb, this water will appeal to children with its pretty pink color and its subtly scented sweet taste. To achieve it, you just need a little patience.
Ingredients:
500 grams of rhubarb
150 grams of sugar (about a third of the weight of rhubarb in sugar)
1 liter of water
Production :
We start by peeling the rhubarb. As for chard, you have to incise the skin at one end of the rod pull on it to remove it all at once. Then, cut it into small sections of 2 centimeters, before putting it in a saucepan and covering it with sugar. Then let it drain for at least an hour. And above all, do not throw away the skin of the rhubarb, which will be used.
Once the rhubarb is disgorged, it must be blanched with its juice in boiling water. We do not forget to immerse the skins there too. When the water returns to the boil, cook for 5 minutes in small bubbles before removing the pan from the heat.
All you have to do is let it cool and filter the water with a fine strainer. Before putting everything in the fridge. This rhubarb water can be served with a piece of stem in the glass as a decoration. It keeps for a few days in the refrigerator.
As a bonus:
With the pieces of rhubarb that remain (without the skin), you can make compote by leaving the rhubarb in the saucepan over low heat for an hour. For those who really fear the tangy taste, it is possible to add an apple or a glass of orange juice. This compote can accompany cheese, like a condiment on a slice of bread. It goes particularly well with character cheeses, like a roasted camembert.
Rhubarb clafoutis
The purists will jump since a clafoutis, in the rules of the art, is only prepared with cherries. But these are not yet in season and the rhubarb goes perfectly with the texture of this dessert.
Ingredients:
500 grams of rhubarb
150 grams of sugar
60 grams of flour
3 eggs
200 grams of heavy cream
20 cl milk
1 vanilla pod
1 pinch of salt
Production :
It is necessary again to peel the rhubarb, cut pieces of approximately 4 centimeters and let them disgorge in a little sugar, before blanching them 2 small minutes in boiling water.
Next, mix the eggs with the flour. Add the milk, the cream, then the sugar, a pinch of salt and the seeds of a vanilla pod. Mix everything well before pouring the device into a generously buttered and sweet pan. This will allow the clafoutis to caramelize on the edges.
In the dough, add the rhubarb pieces one by one, pressing them lightly. Put everything in a hot oven at 210 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. The dough must be golden and puffy around the rhubarb pieces.
If you want to unmold the clafoutis, first distribute the rhubarb at the bottom of the mold and do not pour the dough on it until after. And you have to unmold hot to prevent it from sticking.