At the moment I am quite addicted to……….rhubarb. The tangy pink stalks can be turned into all sorts of captivating creations, including a mouthwatering recipe I found in The Simple Things magazine. Of course I completely cheated and instead of making the luscious looking rhubarb and ginger pavlova, I just made the topping and scooped it into a shop bought meringue nest with a generous dollop of whipped double cream. For the original recipe look Here. 🙂
The topping involves rhubarb,honey,juice and zest of an orange, vanilla pods and star anise baked on a tray in the oven for 30 minutes. As you can imagine the aroma was gorgeous.
I loved the tangy tart taste of the rhubarb offset by the added sweetness of honey and vanilla. The aniseed flavour of the star anise seems to go perfectly with it.
I recently came across a book that celebrates Northern food…and I admit that I didn’t even know that rhubarb was ( and still is) grown widely in West Yorkshire. According to the book the heavy clay soils and rainfall contribute to the area being the ideal place to grow the fruit. It thrives in the county , where the land is unsuitable for growing most other crops. The area is known as the Rhubarb Triangle.
The book is called ‘From Eccles Cake to Hawkshead Wig’. If your interested Hawkshead Wig is a type of bread baked in the Cumbrian village. I can just see myself tucking the book under my arm as I galavant around the countryside trying out all the Northern England delicacies. 🙂
Anyhew, back to rhubarb!
Oooops the wrong rhubarb. ;))
My favourite beverage of the non alcoholic variety is Mr Fitzpatrick’s Rhubarb & Rosehip cordial. Seriously, I cannot get enough of this stuff.Its divine! Mr Fitzpatrick’s Temperance Bar in Rawtenstall, Lancashire is one of a very few Victorian temperance bars left in the whole country, its quirky vintage cordials such as Blood Tonic, Blackcurrant & Liquorice and Rhubarb & Rosehip hark back to a time when the movement sprang up to promote abstinence from the ‘demon drink’. Actually the rhubarb variety is very good with prosecco. 😉
What are your favourite rhubarb recipes?
sunshine and celandines 
I love rhubarb jam mixed with apricot 🙂
Sounds good. My Mum used to make rhubarb and ginger jam. 🙂
I LOVE rhubarb! Cheat all you want- it sounds good to me. And I’m now desperate to try the cordial! When can I next get to Lancashire??? 😦
The cordial is delicious. I think if you look at the mr fitzpatricks website you can find your nearest stockists.:)
Good idea! 🙂
Rhubarb crumble!
Yummy. LOVE crumbles. 🙂
That book looks interesting-are the items listed in order of area?
When we moved into the house I grew up in (My mum is still there-next door to where I live now ) we found that there was rhubarb growing in the back garden. We used to gather it and pass it on to my Mum’s aunt who loved it. We didn’t tell her our dig used to urinate over it 🙂
Probably made it grow bigger!
Order of area , North west, North east etc. No mention of Manchester tart though.:(
No Manchester tart! What about Bury’s black puddings?
yes apparently the pudding is seasoned with marjoram,thyme,pennyroyal and celery seed to give its unique taste,According to the book.
I should point out it was my dog that urinated on the rhubarb, just in case you thought our dig was my brother. (I can’t tell you what he did to it!)
🙂 I gathered. Haha.
I love rhubarb, too! Even in yogurt! 🙂
Aaahah never tried it with yogurt.x