In Season: How to cook rhubarb and eight of our most popular recipes
Sweet, sour and utterly delicious, rhubarb is one of the hero ingredients of the moment.
Cullohill rhubarb pie
With a delicate, buttery pastry and tart rhubarb chunks, this pie is irresistible for an afternoon summertime treat
Servings
8Preparation Time
2 hours 20 minsCooking Time
45 minsTotal Time
3 hours 5 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
For the pastry:
225g butter, softened
50g caster sugar
2 eggs
350g plain flour
For the filling:
900g sliced red rhubarb (about 1cm thick)
370g granulated sugar depending on whether you are using forced or garden rhubarb
1 egg, beaten
dash of milk
caster sugar, for sprinkling
To serve:
softly whipped cream
Barbados/ soft dark brown sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
First, make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food mixer. Add the eggs one by one and beat for several minutes. Reduce speed and mix in the flour slowly.
Turn out onto a piece of floured greaseproof paper, flatten into a round wrap and chill. This pastry needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours otherwise it is difficult to handle.
To make the egg wash, combine a dash of milk and beaten egg.
To make the tart, roll out the pastry 3mm thick, and use about ⅔ of it to line a suitable tin. Place the sliced rhubarb into the tart, sprinkle with sugar. Cover with a lid of pastry, seal edges, decorate with pastry leaves, egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the apples are tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. When cooked cut into squares, sprinkle lightly with caster sugar and serve with softly whipped cream and Barbados sugar.
Rhubarb and ginger bakewell tart
With a delicate pastry lattice or a sprinkle of flaked almonds, this bakewell classic makes the perfect summertime centrepiece
Servings
6Preparation Time
25 minsCooking Time
40 minsTotal Time
1 hours 5 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
50g butter
110g flour
pinch of salt
25g caster sugar
1 egg, beaten (use about half)
50g butter
40g caster sugar
1 egg
25g ground almonds
40g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3-4 tbsp rhubarb, ginger and sweet geranium jam
sweet geranium leaves, to garnish
Method
Use a 1 x 18cm (7 inch) tin with a ‘pop-up’ base.
To make the shortcrust pastry, sieve the flour and the sugar into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes, toss in the flour, rub in with the fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Whisk the egg with 2 tsp cold water and add enough to bind the mixture. But do not make the pastry too wet — it should come away cleanly from the bowl. Flatten into a round and wrap in parchment paper and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Line the flan ring. Spread a thin layer of rhubarb, ginger and sweet geranium jam in the base of the flan. Cream the butter, add the caster sugar and beat until white and creamy, add the beaten egg, and then stir in the flour, ground almonds and baking powder. Spread this mixture carefully over the jam and smooth the top. Cut the remaining pastry into thin strips and arrange in a lattice pattern over the top of the flan. Egg wash carefully.
Bake at 180-190°C for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm or cold with a bowl of softly whipped cream. Garnish with Sweet Geranium leaves.
If you would like to decorate the tart with a pastry lattice, use 62g butter and 125g flour.
Strawberry and rhubarb pavlova
Crisp meringue and sweet cream with sweet fresh strawberries and rhubarb roasted in orange and honey - a match made in heaven
Servings
12Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
2 hours 15 minsTotal Time
2 hours 45 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence
600g strawberries
a bunch of rhubarb, about 400g
1 orange
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Separate the eggs. Whisk the whites until they are stiff with nice peaks. With your mixer still running at high speed, gradually add the sugar a tablespoon at a time until you have a glossy, stiff mixture. Do not over whip it though, you want a creamy, smooth mixture with stiff, glossy peaks. Just before the meringue is ready, add the vinegar and mix that through.
Heat your oven to 120°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Spread half of the meringue mixture onto each, forming discs about 25cm in diameter. Bake for two hours and then turn off the oven. Use a wooden spoon to hold the oven door slightly ajar and leave the meringue in there until the oven is completely cool.
Hull and quarter half of the strawberries. Add them to a pan with the lemon juice and one teaspoon of caster sugar. Cook over a medium heat until the strawberries are soft, and the juices reduce down to a runny jam-like consistency. Take the pan off the heat and allow the compote to cool completely.
Trim the rhubarb and cut it into 3cm long pieces. Toss it in the zest and half the juice of the orange, along with a tablespoon of honey. Bake the rhubarb in your oven at 180°C for about fifteen minutes, then remove it from the tray and low it to cool. If you like, you can bake the rhubarb at the same time as the meringue, just give it about thirty minutes at that lower temperature until it is soft and cooked through but still holding its shape.
Whip the cream along with two teaspoons of caster sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla essence. Wash the strawberries, cutting some in half, keeping the stalks attached. These are for the top of your pavlova. Hull and slice the rest.
Place one meringue on a serving platter. Spread generously with the Chantilly cream, and add the roasted rhubarb. Add the top layer of meringue, spreading that with the last of the cream. Now spoon over the strawberry sauce. Pile on the sliced strawberries, top off with the halved berries, and if you fancy it some fresh blackberries or flaked almonds for decoration.
You can prepare most of the elements for this dessert ahead of time. If you wish, bake the meringue, roast the rhubarb, and make the strawberry compote the night before you need the pavlova. You can then whip the cream, prepare the fresh fruit, and assemble the pavlova just before you are ready to serve it. Do not leave this dessert to stand for too long before serving it though, or the meringue will lose its crisp texture.
Roast rhubarb with ginger
This is a simple and delicious way of preparing rhubarb which has the added benefit of keeping the beautiful shape and look of the rhubarb stalks intact
Servings
6Preparation Time
40 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
1 hours 10 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
300g of rhubarb, cut into spears
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
150g caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place the rhubarb and ginger in a medium baking dish. Scatter the sugar over it and scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the dish.
Leave the dish on the countertop for around 30 minutes to let the rhubarb release some of its juices.
Mix the ingredients around the dish a little so everything is coated in sugar and rhubarb juice.
Roast for around 30 minutes until the rhubarb spears are soft but not yet falling apart. Let cool slightly and serve with good vanilla icecream.
Rhubarb and custard tart with pistachios
Make the most of rhubarb season with this fabulous tart
Servings
10Preparation Time
15 minsCooking Time
1 hours 5 minsTotal Time
1 hours 20 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
For the pastry:
225g plain flour
175g butter
pinch of salt
1 tbsp icing sugar
a little beaten egg or egg yolk and water to bind
For the filling:
600g rhubarb, cut into small pieces
1-2 tbsp caster sugar
300ml cream
2eggs
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the garnish:
45g coarsely chopped pistachio nuts
Method
Make the shortcrust pastry in the usual way and leave to relax in a fridge for 1 hour. Line a tart tin (or tins), with a removable base and chill for 10 minutes. Line with paper and fill with dried beans and bake blind in a moderate oven 180°C for 15-20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, paint the tart with a little egg wash and return to the oven for 3 or 4 minutes.
Arrange the cut rhubarb evenly inside the tart shell. Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons caster sugar.
Whisk the eggs well, with the 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla extract, add the cream. Strain this mixture over the rhubarb and bake at 180°C, for 35 minutes until the custard is set and the rhubarb is fully cooked. Scatter with coarsely chopped pistachios. Serve warm with a bowl of whipped cream.
Rhubarb and mascarpone tart
As beautiful as it is delicious, this tart is always well received.
Servings
12Preparation Time
1 hours 10 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
1 hours 40 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
For the pastry:
225g flour
140g cold butter, cut into cubes
55g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten and an extra egg white
For the topping:
600g thin rhubarb stalks, trimmed
40g golden caster sugar
the zest of an orange and 1 tbs of juice
For the filling:
300g mascarpone
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
200ml cream, whipped
Method
To make the pastry: rub the cold butter into the flour until it looks like rough breadcrumbs — try not to over mix.
Stir the sugar into the egg, mix it lightly until it begins to dissolve. Add this to the flour mixture with a fork. Bring everything together with your hands then wrap it in parchment and rest the pastry in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight if you wish.
Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and flour a 7-inch tart tin.
Roll the pastry into a disc about 3mm thick, it should be larger than your tin. Gently lower it into the tin and allow it to fall into place. Leave a little over the edge: you can tidy this up when you pinch the top of the tart before baking. Place into the freezer or fridge to firm up before baking it blind.
Cut a sheet of parchment to fit the pastry case.
Place the parchment into the pastry and fill it with baking beans. Pinch the sides so it fits snugly around the edge of the tin. Bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the baking beans and parchment and brush the pastry with some egg white. Place back into the oven for another five minutes without any parchment or beans on top until golden, then set it aside to cool completely.
Place all of the ingredients for the rhubarb into a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about five minutes until the rhubarb has softened but still holds a bite. Allow to cool completely.
To make the filling: whip the mascarpone with the vanilla and honey then fold in the cream. Spread this over the cold pastry base. Drain the rhubarb from the juice — this can be used as a cordial. Decorate the tart with the stewed rhubarb before serving.
Rhubarb and brown butter tart
Make the most of late season rhubarb with this delicious tart
Servings
12Preparation Time
15 minsCooking Time
35 minsTotal Time
50 minsCourse
ImportedIngredients
For the pastry:
180g plain flour
110g unsalted butter
50g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
For the filling:
350g young rhubarb
100g sugar
180g butter
juice of 1 juicy lemon or 2 not so juicy ones
2 eggs
160g sugar
1 tbsp brandy (optional)
few drops of vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 tbsp double cream
3 tbsp plain flour
Method
Whizz the flour, butter and sugar in a food processor, then add the egg yolks. Whizz a bit more then turn out onto an un-floured work surface and bring it together with your hands. Wrap in clingfilm and leave in the fridge for a few hours. Wash and slice the rhubarb into 5cm pieces and roll in 100g of sugar and roast in the oven at 160°C until just tender. Allow to cool and drain off the syrup. Grate the pastry on the course part of a grater into a 25cm loose-bottomed tart shell. Push down the grated pastry to cover the base and sides reasonably well. You can leave it a bit rough – try not to work the pastry too much.
Put the shell in the freezer, and, after a few minutes when it is hard, put in the oven and bake until pale brown – about 15 minutes.
Set the pastry case aside and turn up the oven to 180°C.
Put the butter in a small pan over a moderate heat. Once it has melted, let it bubble and go slightly brown. When it has reached the desired nuttiness, take off the heat; squeeze in the lemon and leave to cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together in an electric mixer until thick and fluffy – about 5 minutes.
Add the (optional) brandy, vanilla, salt, cream and flour and cooled butter. Mix with a spoon until everything is incorporated.
Arrange the drained rhubarb in the pastry case and pour over the egg mixture. Bake for about 35 minutes or until light brown and set. The tart can be eaten warm or cold, and is nice with crème fraiche.
This recipe is based on a delicious plum tart from Chez Panisse in California
Ballymaloe rhubarb meringue tart
Orange and rhubarb are the star of this showstopping meringue pie
Servings
6Preparation Time
30 minsCooking Time
40 minsTotal Time
1 hours 10 minsCourse
BakingIngredients
500g trimmed weight rhubarb, cut into 2cm chunks
juice of ½ orange
25g butter
150g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp plain flour
2 dstp cornflour
2 egg whites
110g caster sugar and extra for sprinkling
Method
Put the rhubarb into a large sauté pan with the orange juice and heat gently to take the rawness out of the rhubarb — leave for around 4 to 5 minutes.
Melt the butter in another pot off the heat, add caster sugar and whisk in the egg yolks and flour — mixing to a “roux” type consistency.
Strain the rhubarb, reserving the juices. Toss rhubarb gently in cornflour and then place in a tart tin.
Add a little rhubarb juice to the butter, sugar and flour mix and then spoon this over the rhubarb. Bake at 170°C, for 25 minutes or until set.
To make the meringue, whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form, gradually adding half the caster sugar, continuing to whisk until shiny. Gently fold in the remaining caster sugar with a metal spoon. Spread the meringue on top of the still-hot rhubarb, sprinkle a little caster sugar on top and bake for a further 15 minutes at 170°C. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tin.
This recipe was shared with the Ballymaloe School by Alison Henderson
