Rhubarb & lentil salad
Serves 6-8 as a side salad
200 g Puy lentils
50 mls olive oil
Salt & pepper
2 corn on the cob
6-8 rhubarb stalks
1 bunch asparagus
1-bunch spring onions
Salt & pepper
Big bunch flat leaf parsley
1 pack halloumi
Another splash olive oil
Splash balsamic or lime juice
Cook the Puy lentils in boiling water until tender and then drain and give them a quick rinse with cold water. Drain them really well and then mix with the 50 mls olive oil and season well. You can cook the corn on a chargrill briefly to give it some flavour - just rub it with some olive oil, salt & pepper and char on all sides or else cook for a few minutes in boiling water and then drain and cut the corn from the cob and add to the salad. Chop up the rhubarb and add it in and either chargrill the asparagus or quickly blanch them or steam them, then refresh and add to the lentils. Add in the spring onions, and chop up the flat leaf parsley. Chop the halloumi into cubes and fry in olive oil, until golden brown and then drain on kitchen paper and add them in. Taste and adjust the seasoning. This is fine after a night in the fridge, but I prefer to make this and while all the veg are still a little warm, serve straight away. Sharpen up with the vinegar or lime juice if necessary.
Rhubarb, honey & saffron tart
24 cm loose bottomed tart ring, Serves at least 6
Oven to 190 C
225 g flour
40 g icing sugar
150 g butter
1 egg, beaten
Mix the ingredients together in a food processor until it forms a ball. Then wrap in cling film and chill for an hour if you can. If not, stuff it into the freezer for ten minutes.
Filling
350 g rhubarb (approx 3 large sticks)
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
4 egg yolks
325 ml cream,
3 generous tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch saffron (optional)
50 g toasted almonds (optional)
Roll out the pastry between sheets of cling film. Do this by laying out one or two overlapping sheets of cling film onto your work surface. Put the ball of pastry in the middle and pat down so it flattens out a bit, then place another sheet or two over it, so that its sandwiched between sheets of cling film. It's much easier to roll out this pastry that way. It will take a little while to get it to the right size. Then remove top layer of cling film. Put tart case onto of pastry (upside down) and invert pastry onto tart case. Press down gently, along the sides and base so that it fits in snugly. The cling film makes this easier to do as it acts as a good barrier. Then you can put the dried beans on directly to the cling film layer and bake. The cling fill won’t melt, but if you get spooked and don’t believe me, then carefully peel off the cling film, top with a piece of scrunched up parchment paper, top with beans and place on baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Then carefully remove from the oven, remove the beans and put back on the oven for another 5 minutes to dry out. You should have a lovely golden and crisp tart shell case. To make the filling: chop the rhubarb into 1 cm chunks. Toss with the Demerara sugar. Whisk the egg yolks with the cream, honey, vanilla and saffron. Then carefully pour into the cool tart shell. Place the sugared rhubarb pieces in the tart with pretty colour facing up. Then bake at 180 C for about 35 minutes. It should be nice light golden colour in parts. Slightly soft, not 100 % firm. Cool and top with toasted almonds if you like. Slice and serve. I like this best at room temperature.
Rhubarb fool flavoured with rosemary and ginger
Serves 4-6
500 g chopped rhubarb
Sprig rosemary
Knob ginger, peeled and chopped in half
150 g caster sugar (approximately)
200 ml cream
Cook the rhubarb with the rosemary, ginger and just enough water to stop it from burning, in a medium-sized saucepan with a lid on it. Cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes or until it is tender. Allow to cool a little and then remove the ginger and rosemary. When it is still warm, add enough sugar to sweeten. Allow to cool fully, whip the cream until thick and fold into the rhubarb. Add more sugar if necessary. If you want to show off and have a layer of pretty pink juice on the top of your fool, then simply leave the rhubarb in a sieve to cool and collect the juice which you can pour on top.
Rhubarb curd yoghurt ice cream
This comes from an oldie: the Leith’s Seasonal Bible and serves 4-6
300 g chopped, prepared rhubarb stems
50 ml water
2 tsp stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped
4 egg yolks, beaten
170 g caster sugar
110 g butter, cut into cubes
290 ml Greek yoghurt
Put the rhubarb in a saucepan with the water, cover with a lid and gently poach until it breaks down. Pass through a sieve to extract all the lovely rhubarb juice. Mush it with the back of a spoon rather than metal spoon so as not impart a metallic taste. In a clean saucepan, preferably non stick, heat the rhubarb juice along with the chopped ginger, eggs, caster sugar and butter. Mix really well and eventually it will thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with more ginger syrup or sugar if necessary. Allow to cool then stir in the yoghurt, mix well and freeze in a plastic container for a few hours or overnight.
Ginger & brown sugar meringues
Makes 10 big meringues
4 egg whites
30 g caster sugar
200 g Demerara sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
Oven to 140 C. You need 2 baking sheets covered with baking parchment. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Add the caster sugared and whisk until shiny. Fold in the brown sugar and ginger. Blob 5 blobs of meringue mixture onto each tray and bake for about an hour. Allow them to cool before peeling off. Serve with ice cream and compote.
Rhubarb compote
300 g chopped, prepared rhubarb stems
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
2 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp stem ginger syrup.
This couldn’t be simpler. Heat up all the ingredients until soft but still a bit chunky. Check the seasoning. Allow to cool and spoon this onto anything and everything you fancy