Making the Most of Things: Rhubarb

Abundance, proliferation, plenty, bountifulness, shitloads, all great words when it comes to what we get from our gardens at times. Feast or famine as they say. However the downside is how many more ways can we prepare certain fruits or vegies to make use them all?

Zucchini or courgettes is an obvious one as when they grow there is a time when the come thick and fast. One I have struggled with is rhubarb. There are only so many crumbles, flans, slices, and gob loads on your cereal or muesli that a person can cope with. Particularly for a  a person with a limited sweet tooth.

Frugality is a mind set and it is important to clarify something right now. Frugality does not equate to being  a tightwad, a miser, a misery guts, a penny pincher, a Scrooge or money grubber. It is making the most of things, working on buying what you need rather than what you want, making the most of your money, enjoying the moment and what you have rather than what you do not have, and enjoying life. It is about using your brain to find solutions and learning to think outside the square.

Back to rhubarb, it is moderately prolific but unlike beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions...you just can't eat it every day when it is around. But being frugal, I hated seeing good rhubarb not being used. There had to be a better way...

Oscar, our itinerant but regular visitor, lies near the rhubarb.

Rhubarb originates from China and has been used there for eons. However the use was medicinal. Marco Polo brought rhubarb back to Europe and  its use also spread to countries near China. So it is not surprising to find a recipe for savoury rhubarb with its roots in India.

I have made only the Rhubarb and Lentil Curry. It was wonderful and surprisingly there was really no taste of the rhubarb although its presence was felt in other ways. I look forward to trying the others and now making much more use of this wonderful vegetable.

According to Wikipedia, rhubarb is a vegetable although in the USA it is considered a fruit. This means there are lower duties and tariffs on the product.

The recipes were given to me so apologies to their origin as I know not whom to acknowledge and thank. Like all recipes, I use them as a guide, tweaking and adjusting to make use of what I have on hand and what I think will work. Adaptability is another key ingredient top frugality!  

Even though it is listed in recipe one, I never use olive oil when I am to heat it as it has a low smoke point and develops compounds that are carcinogenic with heat.I use a mild tasting high smoke point oil such as rice bran oil.

Rhubarb and Lentil Curry  Serves 6

·                                 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided

·                                 2 Tbs. yellow mustard seeds

·                                 2 ½ tsp. whole cumin seeds

·                                 3 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

·                                 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

·                                 1 medium red onion, chopped (1½ cups)

·                                 ½ cup golden raisins

·                                 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained

·                                 3 ½ cups  vegetable broth

·                                 ½ lb. fresh rhubarb, cut into ¼-inch slices, or ½ lb. frozen sliced rhubarb, thawed

·                                 6 cups baby spinach leaves

·                                 ½ cup chopped cilantro / coriander

Heat 1 Tbs. oil in nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Cover skillet, and cook 2 minutes, or until seeds begin to pop. Cook 1 to 2 minutes more, or until popping stops, shaking skillet often. Remove from heat, stir in ginger and garlic, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and set aside.
Heat remaining 1 Tbs. oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and raisins; sauté 10 minutes, or until onions begin to brown. Stir in lentils and 3 cups broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 25 minutes. Stir in rhubarb and remaining 1/2 cup broth; cook 6 minutes. Add spinach, cover, and cook mixture 6 minutes more. Stir mixture to incorporate rhubarb and spinach leaves, then stir in spice mixture. Serve garnished with cilantro / coriander.

From another near neighbour to China, Iran. A recipe using rhubarb in a salad.

Thinly sliced cucumber and rhubarb tossed and left to stand for a while in salt, then mixed with rocket, lemon juice and a little mint,

Again from Iran; Rhubarb and lamb stew or khoresh.

 Soften a large onion in a mixture of groundnut oil and butter, then add 500g cubed lamb and brown. Stir in a pinch of saffron and 1 tsp pomegranate molasses, then pour in enough water to cover the meat. Simmer, covered, for 1½ hours. Half an hour into the cooking, fry a finely chopped large bunch of parsley and mint in butter and add to the stew. About 5–10 minutes before the stew is ready, add 3 sticks of rhubarb cut into 3cm pieces, stir once, cover and leave until the rhubarb is cooked but still holding its shape. Although fresh herbs generally lose their flavour when cooked, in this instance they're present in sufficient quantities for some flavour to survive, and their bulk serves the secondary purpose of thickening the sauce. Serve with basmati rice.

From Germany; Slow-cooked pork shoulder with tangy rhubarb and riesling recipe

Serves 4-6

2 red onions, peeled and halved

2 celery sticks, cut into quarters

3 bay leaves

2 sprigs of rosemary

½ pork shoulder, off the bone, skin removed and discarded

Olive oil

500ml/17fl oz off-dry wine, such as riesling or gewürztraminer

400g/14oz rhubarb, cut into 5cm lengths

Spinach, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Spread the onions, celery, bay leaves and rosemary over the base of a very large baking tray. Season the pork very generously all over with salt and pepper and sit it on top of the vegetables. Drizzle with oil, then place in the oven for 30 minutes.

Pour over the wine and cover with a sheet of tin foil or greaseproof paper and return to the oven for 90 minutes, basting the meat every 30 minutes.

Place the rhubarb in a bowl, season well and toss in a little olive oil. Remove the covering from the pork and scatter the rhubarb pieces around the tray. Return to the oven, uncovered, for a final 30 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender and the meat is so soft that you can easily pull a bit off. Sometimes you will come across a shoulder that is tougher than others, so you may have to cover it again and return it to the oven for a bit longer until it's perfectly soft.

Sweet and Sour Rhubarb.

Lightly cooked slices of rhubarb are spooned atop spinach leaves and veiled with a warm sweet-and-sour dressing.

Ingredients:

4 stalks Rhubarb, cut diagonally into thin slices

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

16-20 spinach leaves

6 tbsp. vegetable oil 

Method:

Place the rhubarb in a wide saucepan. Sprinkle on the sugar and add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, for exactly 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour through a large sieve into a bowl. Return the liquid to the pan. Stir in the vinegar, salt and pepper, and place over high heat. Cook, uncovered, until the mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup. Meanwhile, divide the spinach among 4 salad plates. Arrange the rhubarb over the spinach. When the liquid is reduced, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the oil. Pour over the salads and serve at once