Welcome back everyone! I am so happy to be back in our kitchen. This month I want to talk about one of my favorite vegetables in my garden, the rhubarb. You read right, although it is often cooked with fruit, rhubarb is a member of the buckwheat family. It is one of the first plants harvested in gardens and if maintain it will last until the end of summer. It is a though and cold-hardy plant, which makes it easy to grow in our area. The leaf stalk can be used raw but are most commonly cook in pies, crumble, and other desserts. They have a strong, tart taste. The redder the stalk, the sweeter the flavor. The leaves are however poisonous to humans and animals. Here’s one of my favorite recipes that I’ll enjoy on a hot summer day: rhubarb lemonade.
Rhubarb lemonade
- 1.5 L water
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 4 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
- Juice of 1 lemon
In a saucepan, bring the water and honey to a boil. Add the rhubarb and bring back to boil. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, allowing the pulp to drain without pressing for 15 minutes. Transfer the liquid to a pitcher and add the lemon juice. Refrigerate for about 4 hours.
Note: you can reuse the rhubarb pulp to make a quick compote. Just put back the pulp in a saucepan. Add about 3 cups of strawberry and simmer for 10 minutes. Puree with a hand blender and cool down. Enjoy!
Chef Caroline