From pies, to salads, muffins to crisps, we suggest five ways to prepare your backyard rhubarb bounty.
1. Rhubarb pie
Rhubarb’s mouth-puckering sour taste softens and mellows with a generous dose of sugar. It also pairs well with berries. Strawberry-rhubarb is a match made in pie-heaven. Allrecipes.com has a basic recipe for the sweet treat. We suggest adding a teaspoon of orange peel, vanilla or nutmeg for an extra zing.
2. Stewed rhubarb
Delicious mixed with plain yogurt for a morning meal or drizzled over vanilla ice cream for dessert, stewed rhubarb is one of the easiest ways to prepare the magenta vegetable. Mix six cups of chopped rhubarb with 1 cup of sugar or 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to boil. Sweeten to taste. For a citrus punch replace water with orange juice, or for a zing add 1/4 cup of fresh grated ginger or try Canadian Living’s simple recipe.
3. Rhubarb muffins
Tart chunks of rhubarb are a nice variation on typical fruit muffins. Stir chunks of rhubarb into a pre-made buttermilk muffin mix or try your hand at this recipe from rhubarbinfo.com. Either way, try one warm with a slice of aged cheddar cheese.
Rhubarb muffins. Photo courtesy of jazzjiava.
4. Rhubarb crisp
If you like rhubarb and oatmeal cookies, then rhubarb crisp will be sure to please. Plus, it’s quick to make and a beautiful addition to any summertime meal. Mix four cups of chopped rhubarb with 3/4 cup brown sugar. Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 3/4 cup rolled oats and 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle over top. Bake for 40 minutes at 350F. Or try your hand at this recipe from marthastewart.com.
5. Rhubarb salad
For a pleasant, sharp-tasting salad topper, toss rhubarb chunks in sugar and roast until soft. Sprinkle on top of spinach, sliced strawberries and crumbled feta. For a creamy variation, eatingwell.com’s recipe combines goat cheese, raisins, baby greens and roasted rhubarb.