Spring is in the air... and on your table.
Rhubarb Salad with Goat Cheese
Courtesy of Culinary in the Desert
To shave the tartness off the rhubarb, we sliced the stalks into chunky pieces and tossed them with enough honey to coat just before they went into the oven. I would suggest trying to find stalks that are roughly the same size, while also being not too thick and fibrous to allow the pieces to cook evenly. It took less than 5 minutes in the hot oven for the rhubarb to go from firm to just tender enough that they were soft, yet still held their shape - you don't want them to turn mushy.
Since you don't want to work with pipping hot rhubarb, while it was cooling down, we made a clean dressing by whisking together olive oil with an equal amount of tangy white balsamic vinegar. If all you have is regular, dark balsamic, that would certainly be fine to us... the white is really used for aesthetic reasons, though it does feel a bit more sweet as well. With plenty of tender textures already happening between the rhubarb and spinach, the salad was aching for a crunchy contrast... which came in the form of thinly sliced fennel! Tossed together with the modest dressing, the salad was complete with a smattering of creamy goat cheese crumbles and a handful of toasted walnuts.
Delightful, with a notable spring influence, I was happily surprised how the licorice-y notes from the fennel playfully bounced off the tamed rhubarb to create an energizing salad that had us slowing down to savor each bite. If I had arugula around, its peppery quality would have been a nice compliment, but the homegrown spinach did the deed quite well on its own. I have to say, it is quite satisfying having only to walk out the back door, snapping fresh ingredients you need right off the plants, to complete a meal!
Rhubarb is one of the few colorful items at the Minnesota Farmers' Market in June. Everyone has had Strawberry Rhubarb - but have you tried the sour/tart combination of Sour Cherry and Rhubarb? This is a must for any summer BBQ.
Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler
Filling
2 lbs Rhubarb cut into 1/2" pieces
3 24oz jars Morello cherries (trader joe's -best!)
1.5-2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 1/2 cups reserved cherry juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp almond extract
Biscuit Topping (from The New Best Recipe)
10 oz (2 cups) flour
2.5 oz (6 TBSP) sugar
1/2 tsp bkg pwd
1/2 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 TBSP cold butter cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP raw sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 425 F
* Prep Filling. Cut rhubarb, drain cherries (reserve juice). Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt together in dutch oven (or other large pot). Stir in wine and reserved cherry juice to dissolve. Add cherries and rhubarb. Let sit - to macerate - for at least 15 minutes.
While fruit is macerating - bake biscuits.
* Biscuits: in a food processer, blend dry ingredients. Add cold butter and pulse about 10 times until dough is in pea size balls. Transfer dough to a medium bowl and stir in buttermilk. Using a 1 3/4" scoop - create 12 dough balls on parchmet lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake until lightly browned on top and bottom (about 15 minutes.) Do not over bake - they are going back in the oven shortly. Leave oven on.
* Cook fruit. Stir fruit and liquid mixture over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Let simmer and thicken (1-5 minutes depending on how much liquid was released from rhubarb.) Cook this until it is the thickness of pie filling (or desired thickness). You can cook down the liquid - or dissolve more cornstarch in a bit of water over heat until thick to add to the mixture.
* 15 Minutes before serving: Pour hot fruit mixture into serving/baking dish. Place biscuits on top of fruit. Cook cobbler at 425 until fruit is bubbling and biscuits are deep golden brown (about 10 minutes if filling started hot, longer if you let filling rest). Serve warm.
Toss-and-Turn Asparagus:
1 bunch asparagus, approx. 1 lb.
1 sweet red pepper
8 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp. chives, chopped
¼ cup basil, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. rosemary
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. roasted garlic
Wash and trim asparagus. Slice sweet pepper into ½ inch slices. Heat oil in sauté pan. Add garlic, rosemary and chives. Add sliced peppers, mushrooms and asparagus. Stir and toss in the pan 3-4 minutes. Add basil. Stir and toss until tender.
6 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup raisins
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt
¾ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. allspice
Combine all ingredients. Heat gently. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer ½ hour or until mixture is thick. Pour in sterilized jars and seal.
