Rhubarb Galette

Guess who’s back on rhubarb?

It’s true – memories of my depressing rhubarb challenge are forgotten as I visited the promised land of rhubarb: The Inland Northwest. It grows in almost everybody’s yard, so I couldn’t help myself. I pillaged a friend’s garden, where she had a third-generation rhubarb plant thriving in a cool, shady patch of earth. I picked more than enough for my rhubarb galette, which means took some on the plane with me…

For all my Southern friends who give me blank stares when I say “rhubarb,” here is what it looks like, once the big leaves are trimmed off (see? red celery):

I made this dessert from Bon Appetit a few months ago, and then lost the recipe. Martha to the rescue, of course. I love how she includes cinnamon and fresh nutmeg – I’ve never had those spices with rhubarb and it worked quite well. We changed the recipe a bit – mainly, adding mom’s pate brisee instead of Martha’s cornmeal pate brisee. Mom’s crust was perfect, not that anybody would be surprised…

This is a tart dish, perfect for hot summer days, or any days, really.

Rhubarb Galette

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 disk of pate brisee (I’m sending you to Martha’s – increase the sugar to 2 T)
• 1 lb. rhubarb, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3/4 c. sugar
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 14-inch round. Transfer to parchment-lined sheet.

Place rhubarb and lemon juice in large bowl, toss to combine. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add rhubarb to sugar mixture and toss to coat. Pour rhubarb on top of dough, leaving a 2-inch border of dough. Fold border over and crimp to seal. Chill in refrigerator for 15-20 min.

Once chilled, brush crust with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and dot rhubarb with butter. Bake until crust is deep golden and juices are bubbling, about 55 min.

Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, or at room temperature.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

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Rhubarb Mojito

I have this very stylish and sophisticated friend. She almost always wears silk or some other luxe fabric. She has an insanely white carpet that seems to never collect dust or dirt. She can pull off ridiculously large earrings and tunics of every color and pattern.

And she can think of a way to turn almost anything into a mojito.

So, in honor of my dear Krissy, I give you Rhubarb Challenge #3: Rhubarb mojitos!

Krissy suggested this after I explained my challenge to her one night over ginger-beer cocktails at Tate’s.

But of course, I thought, I can boil the rhubarb down into a sugary syrup, strain it and then add it to a classic mojito with rum, fresh mint, lime and club soda.

These were quite yummy and incredibly refreshing. I think the secret is in the rum, not the rhubarb. Get good rum, people, and you won’t feel like you’re drinking something out of your boyfriend’s dorm room freshman year.

The rhubarb adds a nice tart sweetness that matches the minty bubbles of the drink. I recommend enjoying it on someone’s back porch on a warm afternoon, with a little Frank or Ella playing in the background.

WriteGal’s Rhubarb Mojitos

Makes roughly 10 drinks

Ingredients:

• 12 oz. rhubarb, fresh or frozen, cut into chunks
• 2 c. water
• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. fresh lime juice
• GOOD white rum
• Club soda
• fresh mint, as much as you can cut from your garden

Add rhubarb, sugar and water to saucepan and boil until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Strain into a container and press.

In a tall glass, add five or six mint leaves and muddle with a spoon.

Add one shot of rum, one shot of lime and one shot of rhubarb syrup. Fill the glass with ice and finish with club soda. Stir to combine and taste to see if you need more rhubarb syrup or lime juice. The drinks will be a light pink flavor, so wear a little pink to match. : )

And yes, we matched our drinks…and the napkins and plates. (Note: I normally wear mismatched socks) Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Rhubarb-ginger brioche bread pudding

I received some devastating news this week….rhubarb apparently “doesn’t grow in The South.” And by “doesn’t grow,” I mean the plants don’t take the heat well. One website I found said it grows best in Michigan, Washington and Oregon (sigh).  Finding these red and green stalks has been just short of a nightmare.

Upon learning this agricultural tip, I had to look inward and ask myself deep questions, like, “What will this mean for the Rhubarb Challenge? Should I postpone it? *shudder* Cancel it? Should I take on a new challenge instead?”

Fate answered my questions when I discovered frozen rhubarb at Fresh Market (and no, Whole Foods didn’t have it. They have frozen acai and goji berries, but no freaking rhubarb). I bought three bags and marched home to make my second recipe for the Rhubarb Challenge: rhubarb and ginger bread pudding.

Folks, it was really good. I bought freshly baked brioche from Ollie’s Bakery…

Ollie's Bakery

And layered thick eggy slices with the vanilla-bean custard and chunky rhubarb compote. After baking, I brushed the rhubarb sauce over the top, brought it to a cook-out and served it with fresh whipped cream. At first, my friends’ responses were:

Kelly: “What’s…rhubarb?”

Lance: “I cook a lot and I’ve never heard of rhubarb…is it a vegetable?”

Rachel: (raised eyebrow)

Bethany: “I don’t know what this is, but I like it!”

Those kids gobbled almost the entire pan up…and that’s after eating locally farmed burgers, brats and assorted side dishes (plus Miss Anna Lyn’s sangria).

The tartness of the rhubarb is wonderful with the richness of the custard, perfectly flavored with specks of vanilla bean. The ginger was not overpowering – a surprise – and in fact just added a new dimension to my favorite (fruit? vegetable?) stalk.

This will be empty by the end of the day...

The big takeaway was that my FROZEN RHUBARB worked perfectly. It was bright red and beautiful. So I highly recommend using frozen, if you can find it (in a pinch).

Rhubarb-ginger bread pudding (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

• 1 c. seedless raspberry preserves
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/3 c. chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 T orange zest
• 2 1/2 lbs. rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or just buy frozen)
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1 c. heavy whipping cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• butter, for dish
• 8-10 thick slices of brioche, cut lengthwise (one loaf)…you can also use challah
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Whisk preserves and water in large skillet over medium heat until dissolved. Add ginger, orange zest and rhubarb. Bring to simmer, stirring gently, until rhubarb is slightly tender, about 10 min. Pour mixture through large sieve over large saucepan. Let drain in fridge while you get going on the custard…

Preaheat oven to 350. Whisk sugar and eggs in medium bowl. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, add milk and cream and scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Gradually whisk cream into egg mixture, blending completely.

Butter 13×9 inch baking dish. Arrange bread slices along bottom, then spoon over half the drained rhubarb mixture. Repeat with bread and rhubarb. Pour custard over the top and gently press to make sure the bread absorbs all the liquid.

Place dish in roasting pan or lined baking sheet, filling with water to create a water bath (try to get liquid halfway up the dish). Bake until pudding is just set in the middle, covering the top with foil if it gets too dark, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in water bath another 30 minutes, or while you make the whipped cream and sauce…

Boil the draining rhubarb liquid until reduced to 1 c., about 15 minutes. Brush the sauce over the bread pudding before serving.

To serve, spoon pudding onto plate and top with sauce and whipped cream.

This recipe proves that even if you have no clue what rhubarb is, or don’t care, you’ll still enjoy it. Let my diverse and opinionated group of friends attest to that. Enjoy the beautiful weekend, friends! xoxo

Strawberry-rhubarb crumble

One little perfect thing

Introducing….The Rhubarb Challenge! Just like my Pumpkin Challenge (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), I have turned one of my favorite stalks into a challenge that will reward my sweet tooth. However, I don’t know if I’ll make eight recipes…maybe this will just be a one-month challenge. Between now and the end of June. Ready, Set, Go!

First up: strawberry-rhubarb crumble, which I found in a recent Bon Appetit. I like this recipe because the crumble has toasted hazelnuts in it. I would never have thought to put hazelnuts in a crumble, but the result was quite nice. Really made it special and not taste like every other strawberry-rhubarb thing. Not to discount the miraculous combination of strawberries and rhubarb.

What a splendid way to start my Rhubarb Challenge – we got a bucket of freshly picked strawberries at the farmers’ market, of which I used about four cups of the berries.

Hand-picked

You must serve this either warm with one scoop of vanilla ice cream, or cold out of the fridge – just you, the dish and a spoon.

Strawberry-rhubarb crumble

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c. flour
• 2/3 c. plus 1/2 c. sugar
• Large pinch of salt
• 6 T cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 c. toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 lb. strawberries, hulled and halved
• 12 oz. rhubarb, ends trimmed, stalks cut crosswise and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces

Preheat oven to 375. Butter baking dish.

Combine flour, 2/3 c. sugar, salt in medium bowl and whisk to blend. Add butter, rubbing with fingers until is sticks together in clumps. Mix in oats and nuts.

Place 1/2 c. sugar in large bowl. Add strawberries and rhubarb, toss to coat. Pour fruit into baking dish. Sprinkle oat topping over strawberry mixture, clumping together with your fingers. Pat the top down a little to form a crust.

Bake on a cookie sheet (it will bubble over!) until filling bubbles thickly and topping is crisp, about 45-50 min. Let cool 15 min. while you do something fun like finish watching “Rachel Getting Married.”

Juices worth burning your fingers to taste!

Spoon warm crumble into bowls and serve with ice cream.

You’ll find it’s a little soupy at first, but those juices will thicken the next day. Plus, they are delicious! Aren’t you excited for the next edition of the Rhubarb Challenge?! I am. Enjoy, friends! xoxo