Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb

When we bought our place in early 2006, it had nothing but a dead tree, a couple of fences, a couple of stock troughs and a lot of really manky grass (a highly technical term describing grass that is well, manky!).  We had a portion ploughed up when we first bought but that area is now the currant garden, planted with some 40 or 50 black, red and white currants.  We put in some raised vegetable gardens as it was easier to build  up than turn over the paddock land with all the weeds etc that have been there forever.  A couple of the planned beds had not yet been completed, though they had been framed up – the edging boards were in place.  Because there is always so much to do, I tend to subscribe to the theory of working smarter, not harder.  To that end I spread pea straw over the weeds that were growing inside one of the squares set out by the edging boards, and then covered that with the contents of the henhouse.  One needs some sort of fertiliser, high in nitrogen (so if you don’t have chicken manure, you can buy one that would work).  The idea is that when the straw etc has cooled down (after decomposing) it is ready to plant.  I put ours in in the middle of winter and so it didn’t even warm up.  Over the years, we have had limited success planting rhubarb – it has either been too wet or too dry or too something else.  I decided that this new garden would be where I would shift the rhubarb to (again) and hopefully this time it would grow.  Bill helped me dig up the rhubarb plants from earlier attempts and I added some plants that I had growing in pots,  The garden was just the right distance from the fence so that the goats could not reach the leaves.

Rhubarb leaves contain poisonous substances including oxalic acid.  I would have to consume about 5kg of the leaves to ingest enough q lethal dose of pure oxalic acid, but goats are funny things and sometimes, very easy to kill. 

Rhubarb (rheum rhabarbarum) was first taken to the USA in the 1820s, but first recorded in seventeenth century Europe after affordable sugar became widely available.  Often it was used as a pie filling, which led to the slang term for rhubarb, “pie plant”.  Another slang expression was the use of the word rhubarb in British theatre and early radio plays where, “rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb” was repeated to give the effect of unintelligible conversation in the background. 

Fortunately the rhubarb is now doing well.  The addition of some cow manure (something we have plenty of) has also possibly helped as they do require a lot of food (yum).  You can grow rhubarb in a bucket, provided that the soil if full of good compost and kept fertilised.  I seem to remember that my father either suggesting or using a dead hedgehog as a fertiliser for rhubarb (down the hole when planting rather than as a side dressing). 

Rhubarb and strawberries are a great combination, whether simply poached together and served with custard or in a slightly more complicated tart.  Together they make a superb jam. 

Rhubarb and strawberry compote (serves 2)

1 bunch rhubarb (as freshly picked as possible)

A punnet (about 250g) of strawberries, hulled and sliced if large

¼ cup + 1T caster sugar

1/3 cup water

1 vanilla bean (or ½ t vanilla essence)

Slice of any tough stalks and discard.  Slice the rhubarb into 5cm slices

Place all the ingredients in a small pot and gently heat.  Stir to dissolve the sugar, then cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean and cut it in half.  Slice one half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the pot with the fruit.  Stir and simmer for another minute.  Cool.

Serve with breakfast cereal, ice cream, custard or yoghurt. 

For a different taste, ad a few peeled slices of fresh ginger to the syrup during cooking.  After the rhubarb is cooked, add the finely grated zest of an orange, and orange juice to taste.

The remaining half a vanilla bean can be saved for another dish, by wiping it with a damp paper towel and storing it in a zip-lock plastic bag or some other air tight container. 

When a rhubarb plant decides to grow it usually does very well.  I’m picking ours every couple of days at them moment.  An average family would probably need a couple of plants, then any surplus could be frozen to use later – cut off the leaves, and slice into 5cm slice, put into a freezer bag, exclude as much air as possible and seal.  Strawberries can be done the same way.

We tend to think of rhubarb as a fruit that we eat as a dessert.  However, it will give a piquant edge to a rich stew. 

Lamb Khoresh with Rhubarb

1.5kg boned shoulder lamb

2 large onions, chopped

butter

generous pinch saffron

600ml beef stock

½ cup lemon juice

salt  and pepper to taste

2 bunches fresh parley

6 large sprigs fresh mint

5 stalks rhubarb

Trim the excess fat from the meat and cut it into 2.5cm cubes.  Gently and slowly fry the onions in 2 T of butter until they are starting to soften and the raise the heat to colour them.  Remove from the pan, and add the meat to brown it.  Put in the saffron and stir for a minute.  Cover and gently simmer for an hour.

Wash and chop the parsley and the mint.  Fry them for a minute or two in 2 T of butter and add to the stew.  Simmer another half an hour.  Cut up the rhubarb (remove any strings) into 3cm lengths, and add them to the stew.  Cook for another half an hour.

Transfer the meat to a serving dish, and skim the fat from the liquid in the pan.  Boil it down to reduce it and pour over the meat.

Serve with Basmati rice.

Gâteau de rhubarbe

This is rhubarb pie (by any other name) and has got to be the easiest of pies to make.

Line a deep pie plate with shortcrust pastry, and fill it with chunks of young rhubarb.  To every 250g you will need about 90g of sugar.  Moisten the pastry rim with a little beaten egg and cover the pie with more pastry,  Press the edges together and make a central hole in the pie.  Bake for 15 minutes at 220 ^◦C then lower the heat to 180 ^◦C and bake a further 20 – 30 minutes.  Finely grated orange peel can be added wit the sugar and the rhubarb, as could some finely grated or chopped fresh ginger. 

To make this as strawberry and rhubarb pie, mix 4 cups rhubarb, chopped with 2 cups sliced strawberries, 1 1/3 cup of caster sugar, ¼ cup of corn flour, 1T lemon juice and ¼ t cinnamon.  Instead of putting a top on the pie, make a lattice by cutting the pastry into strips about 2cm wide.  Add them over and under each other to make a lattice.  Pinch the strips to the pastry of the base.  Bake as above until the crust is golden and the rhubarb cooked.