(MCT) — I should have known better. My cousin’s seemingly casual invitation was too intent on success, the gleam in her eye a bit too bright. “Take a bite,” she said, holding out the stalk of rhubarb.
She spoke as if she were postponing her own pleasure, as if her bite of the scarlet stalk could wait if it meant her own dear young cousin could be happy. The rhubarb looked tasty. The pale green stalk looked like celery, but better, with brilliant red striations that caught the sunlight. The bottom knob of the stalk, where it had been pulled from the plant with a firm tug, appeared as polished as marble.
This knob was pink, as pink as the hollyhocks against my Grandma Torkelson’s house. It was a shade of pink that, yet today, makes me smile. But it was the other end, where the great leaf had been lopped off by my beguiling cousin, that revealed the stalk’s pale green interior. “Take a bite,” she said again.
I suspect that we were not unobserved — that the grownups were looking out from the kitchen at the ancient drama being enacted. For surely, generation upon generation has tempted its younger members with the suggestion that biting into a stalk of rhubarb is a delight. I mean, my cousin wasn’t that original.
Nor was I when, in later summers, I would extend a stalk of rhubarb toward some unsuspecting cousin, friend, neighbor kid — whoever had not experienced the stop-action surprise of a bite.
To a child’s fairly untested taste buds, rhubarb is a shock. The initial crunch is quickly replaced by the sensation of every pore in your mouth constricting in the face not so much of a taste that is sour — although your brain is screaming “Sour!” — as in the realization that spitting out the rhubarb risks releasing even more of its barbarity and that, while ridding yourself of this morsel now is more important than anything you’ve ever done, the specter of tasting more rhubarb, even on its way out, is akin to realizing that someone’s nails are only halfway down the blackboard.
In short, this drama is great good fun for the profferers of rhubarb and an unforgettable experience for those who, against all of their instincts, finally take a bite.
The good news is that we know now that kids’ taste buds are especially sensitive to bitter or sour flavors and that maturity brings the joy of realizing that rhubarb is one of the great delights of horticulture — although even that took several centuries to discover.
Rhubarb’s first primary use was not as food but as medicine in China and Tibet, with records dating back to 2700 B.C. Its eventual appearance in European countries was due to its medicinal properties, but cooks also were intrigued enough by its tart flavor that they began growing it around 1600. Trade routes continued to shrink the globe, and by the late 1700s imported sugar became plentiful and affordable, which pretty much lit the fuse on rhubarb’s becoming more commonly referred to as “pie plant.”
While we tend to think of it as a fruit, rhubarb actually is a vegetable, which helps move our brains in the direction of using it in more savory dishes, such as a Yorkshire-style pudding side dish, or in a kale salad. Nor is it necessary that rhubarb desserts rely on strawberries. Trust me. It’s far more interesting to pair its tart flavor with tropical mangoes, chewy figs, fresh raspberries or ripe bananas.
Or, you can follow one of the simplest recipes ever devised: Take one small bowl of sugar into the garden. Pull a stalk of rhubarb from the plant. Lop off the leaf. Dip one end of the stalk into the sugar.
Take a bite. Continue dipping as desired. Serves 1.
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YORKSHIRE RHUBARB
Serves 6 to 8
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, or 1 tsp. fresh
2 slices bacon, cut in half-inch pieces (see Note)
1 1/2 cup rhubarb, cut in half-inch pieces
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Directions:
In a blender, combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and thyme. Process until smooth. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slowly fry bacon in a 10-inch oven-safe pan (cast iron is ideal, but see Note). Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reheat the rendered bacon fat until sizzling, then pour the batter into the pan. Scatter rhubarb over the batter, then sprinkle with brown sugar and bacon.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is nicely browned. Cut in wedges and serve alongside any roasted meat or poultry.
Nutrition information per each of 8 servings:
Calories 135 Fat 5 g Sodium 226 mg
Carbohydrates 18 g Saturated fat 2 g Calcium 62 mg
Protein 4 g Cholesterol 53 mg Dietary fiber 1 g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 other carb, 1/2 medium-fat meat, 1/2 fat.
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SALTED CARAMEL RHUBAPPLE PIE
Serves 6 to 8.
Note: My daughter, Mimi, came up with the idea for this pie, thinking to blend one of her favorite flavor combinations with my need for a new rhubarb recipe. She was spot-on. A bit of salt in the caramel is a final touch. . From “Rhubarb Renaissance,” by Kim Ode (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 120 pages, $16.95).
Pastry for single-crust pie
1/3 cup walnut pieces
6 Granny Smith apples (about 21/4 lb.), peeled, cored and thickly sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
2 cups rhubarb, cut in 1-in. pieces
1/4 cup instant tapioca
1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup flour
4 tbsp. cold butter, cut in small cubes
Directions:
Line a pie plate with crust and place in refrigerator while you prepare the filling. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in oven about 5 minutes, until there’s a warm, nutty aroma. Cool, then chop coarsely and set aside.
Toss apple slices with lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter with honey and ½ cup brown sugar in a large heavy saucepan and heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Add apples, stirring to coat them with caramel. Reduce heat and cook uncovered no more than 5 minutes. Do not overcook them to mushiness.
Place rhubarb in a bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the hot apples into the bowl with the rhubarb. Add tapioca and stir to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes. In the meantime, add salt to the caramel remaining in the pan and cook, stirring often, a few minutes more to reduce it to a thick syrup. Do not let it scorch. Remove from heat and set aside.
Combine streusel ingredients (flour, remaining ½ cup brown sugar and 4 tablespoons cold butter), pinching the butter with your fingers until it’s evenly distributed. Stir in the toasted walnuts.
Scrape the apple-rhubarb mixture into the chilled pie shell and drizzle with 3 tablespoons caramel. Spread streusel mixture over pie and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.
Just before serving, drizzle the remaining caramel (reheating if necessary) over the pie.
Nutrition information per each of 8 servings:
Calories 407 Fat 16 g Sodium 260 mg
Carbohydrates 67 g Saturated fat 7 g Calcium 58 mg
Protein 4 g Cholesterol 19 mg Dietary fiber 3 g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 fruit, 1 bread/starch, 2½ other carb, 3 fat.
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CONFETTI SALAD OF KALE AND RHUBARB
Serves 6.
Note: I love this salad. It’s gorgeous, but it also makes you feel like a superhero with all of its vitamins! Lacinato kale — a dark green variety often called dinosaur kale — provides the best color contrast for the ruby bits of rhubarb and golden batons of cheese. The liquid from the pickled rhubarb helps make the vinaigrette. Prepare the rhubarb at least three hours before serving. From “Rhubarb Renaissance,” by Kim Ode (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 120 pages, $16.95).
Pickled Rhubarb:
1 cup rhubarb, cut in ¼-in. pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
Salad:
1 bunch (12 to 15 leaves) lacinato kale
3 tbsp. pickling liquid from rhubarb
3 tbsp. walnut oil
Hefty pinch salt
Several grinds pepper
4 oz. aged Gouda, cut in fat matchsticks (about 1 c.)
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, preferably sourdough
1/2 cup candied walnuts (see below), roughly chopped
Directions:
To make pickled rhubarb: Place rhubarb in a shallow heat-proof bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt and mustard seeds, and bring to a boil; cook until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture over the rhubarb and let sit at room temperature for at least 3 hours before using. The pickles’ flavor improves if refrigerated overnight. Any leftover pickling liquid can be refrigerated for future use.
To make salad: Remove center rib from kale leaves, stack several pieces, then slice crosswise into a fine julienne. You should end up with about 5 cups. Rinse kale and pat dry between paper towels or use a salad spinner.
Whisk together pickling liquid and walnut oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss kale with dressing, then gently fold in the cheese and drained rhubarb. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so the kale softens a bit; it can chill for up to 3 hours.
Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add bread crumbs, stirring to coat. Cook, stirring, until crumbs are golden and crisp. Set aside.
Before serving, toss salad again, add bread crumbs and walnuts, and toss once more.
To make candied walnuts: Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and set aside. Combine 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add 1 cup walnut halves and continue to stir for about 5 minutes, until mixture begins to thicken. Pour out onto parchment paper, separating walnuts with a fork. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cool completely. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to a month.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 310 Fat 20 g Sodium 430 mg
Carbohydrates 26 g Saturated fat 6 g Calcium 270 mg
Protein 9 g Cholesterol 27 mg Dietary fiber 3 g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 vegetable, 1 other carb, 1 high-fat meat, 2½ fat.
