We eat a lot of rhubarb in my house: there’s a whole row of it (that I grew from seed) in our allotment. We eat it fresh in the spring and summer, I freeze a lot of it diced up in 1 quart baggies, ready for recipes the rest of the year, and we give quite a bit away, like last autumn, when I split one of the crowns and gave half to my yoga teacher, Ann. She’s very proud of how well hers has come on, and rightly so. Here’s a look:
Ann’s rhubarb in February
one month later
Ann’s been asking me to suggest ways to use the small amount she’ll allow herself to harvest in its first year. This is one, which will serve 2 people who’ve had a reasonably big meal, or 1 person who’s quite hungy:
Ingredients:
| 1 Stalk | Rhubarb cut in 4 inch long matchsticks OR several small young stalks. All pieces should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. |
| 1 Tablespoon | Butter |
| ½ Teaspoon | Minced ginger root |
| 1 Tablespoon | Granulated sugar |
Directions:
- Melt butter in small frying pan.
- Place rhubarb in pan; toss to coat.
- Add ginger and sugar; stir gently.
- Cover pan and keep heat low.
- In a few moments, sugar will be dissolved. Carefully turn rhubarb in the glaze.
- Cover and remove from heat.
- Rhubarb will continue cooking in its own steam, and should be meltingly tender after 10 or 15 minutes.
Serve arranged attractively on a bijou scoop of best quality vanilla ice cream. (Image added 19th May.)
Here, I’ve also garnished the treat with snipped sorrel leaf.
I'm an American living in the UK, combining rural Mid-west ideas about food with a suburban coastal British reality. It's fun!
Creative Economy in the Kitchen 
What do you think?