Archives

Tart Rhubarb Soup (chilled)

Serves 2-4 Friends, when rhubarb season calls, you must answer. This cold rhubarb soup from Iceland is like a big sip of sunshine. It tastes like lemonade. It tastes like rhubarb. It tastes like “good.” We only have a little more time in rhubarb land until next spring, so hop over to the grocery store and get some! Ingredients: 4 cups chopped rhubarb (cut into 1″ pieces) – about 1 bunch 2 cups water 3/4 cup sugar, more as needed 2 tsp lemon juice Method: Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb. It makes me happy. Almost as happy as these pictures make me… just look at his mane. It’s enough to make any pony jealous Once you chop up the rhubarb, there’s almost nothing left to do. Toss everything in a pot, let simmer for 15 minutes and puree. Chill for a few hours, until cold. Crumble on some zwieback biscuits, or you could serve it up with a dollop of something sweet, if you’d like. But I prefer to eat it with someone sweet. Sip slowly and let …

Read More

DIY Rhubarb Raisins

So you feel like something unsual for lunch… but you just don’t feel like you’re up to Iceland’s famed putrefied shark flesh called Hákarl? You know… the dish made up of poisonous shark flesh that’s been fermented and hung to dry so that it’s no longer poisonous? The one that was traditionally buried and exposed to several freeze/thaw cycles until naturally fermented? The one that tastes like cheesy ammonia? Yeah. Let’s try something simpler. A little more tame. Perhaps something you could bake with? How about rhubarb “raisins”? This is one of those ingenious, resourceful Icelandic dishes that anyone can make at home. All you need is a very hot day (95-100F), or a barely warm oven (150F). Chop up a pile of rhubarb and set it out in the sun (or in the oven), until dried up and shriveled. If you leave it outside, you might cover it lightly with a thin cloth to keep dust and gunk away. Once the rhubarb dries up, pack it in sugar until needed. They get really small, so …

Read More

Strawberry Rhubarb & Cream Tart

Want a bite of Estonian springtime? Go for rhubarb, the most beloved, cold-climate vegetable around. It looks like celery with lipstick, but tastes fruity and tart. Elizabeth Schneider explains the special place rhubarb has in countries like Estonia: Imagine that you’ve spent the winter eating fruits and vegetables rationed from a root cellar and canning jars. Now imagine the first rosy rhubarb of the year, welcome as new grass. Not so long ago, rhubarb held a special place in the culinary calendar as a unique fresh food, the earliest harbinger of spring. Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini 5 Fun facts about Rhubarb: Never eat the leaves, cooked or raw. They are toxic. Never cook rhubarb in aluminum – it will dull the fruit’s color. Look for flat, deep red stalks. They have the most flavor. Rhubarb can be mild or extremely tart. You may need to adjust your sweeteners accordingly. Rhubarb season begins in March, but hothouse rhubarbs are available as early as January. RECIPE Serves 8-10 A casual dusting of confectioner’s sugar gives this …

Read More