Rhubarb is either forced or field-grown. The forced kind is the one everyone celebrates at the start of the year, when those slender, hot-pink stalks provide a welcome contrast to the greys of winter. It hands over the baton to field-grown rhubarb at the end of March/beginning of April, which is greener on account of being grown outdoors and so benefiting from photosynthesis, and has slightly stubbier stalks than forced. The two are pretty much interchangeable in cooking (though field-grown may need a touch more sugar).
When I’ve got field rhubarb, I often ramp the colour dial back up by combining it with another red or purple fruit or vegetable, for example in a colour-clashing salad: rhubarb and tomatoes, rhubarb and roast beetroot, rhubarb and pomegranate seeds. Rhubarb and plums is another combination I love: the mix of reds and the contrast of sweet and sour work a treat. That said, the seasons for rhubarb and plums do not have much of an overlap, with British plums coming in around August, just as field rhubarb is on the way out, though some good European plums are now starting to appear in our shops, so if you want to make today’s pudding, the time is particularly ripe.
Roast rhubarb and plums with sabayon and brittle
Sabayon is a bit like grown-up custard: none of the milk, and a load of alcohol instead. You probably won’t use all of the brittle here: put the leftovers in a sealed container and save for sprinkling over ice-cream. Serves four to six.
400g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
70g caster sugar
6 small plums, cut in half and stoned
For the almond brittle
60g caster sugar
60g almonds, skin on, lightly toasted
1½ tsp fennel seeds, toasted
Coarse sea salt
For the sabayon
6 egg yolks
90g caster sugar
120ml sweet marsala wine
First make the brittle. Put the sugar in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and cook for four to five minutes, swirling the pan every now and then, until the sugar has melted and turned a light golden brown. Add the almonds and fennel seeds, swirl around the pan for another 30 seconds, until the caramel is deep golden, then carefully pour the mix on to a large piece of greaseproof paper. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and leave to cool and harden, then roughly chop the brittle into 2-3mm pieces.
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Mix the rhubarb and 50g sugar in a medium bowl, then tip out on to a 30cm x 20cm baking tray lined with greaseproof paper, so the rhubarb fits snugly in one layer.
Mix the plums with the remaining 20g sugar and spread out cut side up on a second 30cm x 20cm baking tray lined with greaseproof paper; you don’t want to overcrowd them.
Roast the rhubarb and plums alongside each other, the rhubarb for 15 minutes and the plums for 20: the rhubarb should be soft and juicy and the plums soft, caramelised but still holding their shape. Once roasted, keep both somewhere warm.
Just before serving, make the sabayon. Fill a medium saucepan with enough water to come a quarter of the way up the sides of the pan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, so the water is simmering. Put a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, then add the egg yolks, sugar and marsala, and whisk for about eight minutes, until thick, shiny and hot.
Spoon the rhubarb and plums into individual bowls, and pour over some sabayon. Sprinkle some brittle on top, and pour the rest of the sabayon into a bowl or jug to serve on the side.
Rhubarb and sumac kimchi
Sharp and tangy rhubarb is a great vehicle for all the flavours in this fermented pickle, but any combination will work if you have more or less of the rhubarb, fennel or carrots. Just make sure the total net weight of the vegetables stays the same. Makes 1kg.
2½ tbsp Aleppo chilli flakes (or 1 tbsp regular chilli flakes)
1 tbsp sumac
1 orange, zest finely grated (to get 1 tbsp) and juiced (to get 4 tbsp)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
25g fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp nigella seeds
2 tsp caster sugar
Flaked sea salt
400g rhubarb, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 0.5cm pieces (380g net weight)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered and shaved into 1mm slices (340g net weight)
2 carrots, peeled and shaved into 2mm slices (250g net weight)
100g spring onions, trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 0.5cm pieces (80g net weight)
Mix the first seven ingredients with three tablespoons of salt, to create a paste.
Combine the rhubarb, fennel, carrots and spring onions in a bowl, add the paste and massage in. Cover, leave to stand at room temperature for two hours, then transfer to a sterilised medium Kilner jar or similar, pressing down to ensure the liquid rises over the vegetables and weighting them down to keep them submerged. Seal the jar and put in a dark cupboard.
Check the kimchi daily, using a clean spoon to press the vegetables down into the liquid. Once the kimchi tastes tangy enough to your liking – this will take two to five days – move the jar to the fridge.
Duck with rhubarb jam and pickled cucumber
The jam keeps in the fridge for up to a week and is fab on everything from porridge to pancakes, as well as with all meat, so make double the quantities, if you’re so inclined. Serves four as a starter or two as a main with plain rice.
½ cucumber, unpeeled and cut into julienne strips
4 limes: shave the peel of 1 into 6 wide strips, then juice all 4 (you need 60ml)
About 50g caster sugar
Salt
2 duck breasts, skin on and fridge-cold
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
2 tbsp light soy sauce
200g rhubarb, cut widthways into 4cm pieces (if the stalks are thicker than 2cm, cut them in half lengthways, too)
1 hibiscus teabag (or berry or rosehip)
5 cardamom pods, lightly bashed
10g coriander leaves, shredded
In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber, half the lime peel, half the lime juice, and a quarter-teaspoon each of sugar and salt.
Using a very sharp knife, lightly score the skin of the duck breasts diagonally at 2cm intervals (do not cut down to the flesh), then rub the five-spice and cumin all over the breasts. In a medium bowl, whisk a tablespoon and a half of sugar with the soy sauce, then add the duck, massage the marinade into the breasts and transfer to the fridge.
Put the rhubarb, hibiscus tea and cardamom in a small saucepan with the rest of the lime peel and juice, the remaining two tablespoons of sugar and 100ml cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer on a medium-high heat and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until the rhubarb breaks down to a jammy consistency. Leave to cool down to just warm, then remove and discard the teabag, cardamom and lime peel.
Pat dry the duck breasts with kitchen towel, reserving the marinade for later. Lay the breasts skin side down in an unheated medium-sized nonstick frying pan. Turn the heat to medium and leave to fry for 15 minutes, tipping the pan to remove the fat as you go. The skin should be crisp and golden brown, not burnt, so if you feel the heat is getting too high without the fat being rendered enough, turn down the heat. Flip over the breasts and carry on frying on medium-low heat for another five to 10 minutes, so that it’s browned on all sides and cooked pink within. Leaving the pan on the heat, transfer the meat to a board and leave to rest skin side up for five minutes.
Turn down the heat under the pan as low as possible and add the reserved marinade. Stir it around in the pan for a minute, until it reduces and thickens – you want about one tablespoon of liquid – then set aside.
Drain the pickled cucumbers, discard the lime peel, then toss with the shredded coriander.
Using a very sharp knife, cut the breasts into 0.5cm-thick slices (tip the resting and cutting juices into the marinade pan), then arrange on four (or two) plates, slightly overlapping. Drizzle the reduced soy on top and serve with a spoonful of jam and some cucumber pickle.
