I have never cooked rhubarb in my life.
And I have only eaten it maybe 5-6 times. All but the last two were soggy crusted pies, or tarts, wherein the filling was too loose, as if a lot more drainage was required than given, or a whole lot more thickening needed. Whatever: quite off-putting and unlikely to win any converts.
About five years ago I attempted to discover if my prejudice needed to go and we had a conversation here in which I basically asked if there were any savory uses for rhubarb and basically no one came up with any. Oh, someone had had a rhubarb salad dressing in a restaurant one time, but that was it. All that rhubarb love so many laid claim to was strictly for the sweets. Not being a fan of that department, I went back to ignoring rhubarb, which is exactly where I expected to spend the rest of my life.
Then a year or so ago at a fine Vancouver restaurant at the Louden Hotel I was served foie gras on a rhubarb cobbler to go with a glass of barolo. Oh oh oh, now we're talking. The dish was seriously divine and an astonishingly good match for a nebbiolo-based wine, it cranked open this rusty old head of mine to the idea that rhubarb does have some potential, even if it's somewhat limited since rhubarb would seem to always require some sweetening. And a rhubarb garnish I had at a seafood restaurant in Iceland a few months ago also made the case with a preparation method that was revelatory. Cooked through, but still whole and possessing some structure, that rhubarb was quite different from all the stringy stews that all other rhubarbs I've encountered have been.
So what goes down tonight? First off, this cocktail:
RHUBARB BASIL COCKTAIL
For each drink:
3 medium to large basil leaves, rolled and cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons rhubarb purée (recipe follows)
1 1/2 ounces vodka
ice
club soda
Put the basil in the bottom of a glass and press with the back of a spoon to bruise slightly. Add the rhubarb purée and stir. Add vodka and ice cubes and top with club soda. Garnish with a basil leaf.
Rhubarb Purée
makes about 2 cups
12-13 stalks of rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Chop the rhubarb into small, 1/2-inch pieces. Put in a medium saucepan with the sugar and water. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) and purée until smooth. Set a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the rhubarb through the strainer, pressing to get as much of the rhubarb out as possible. Discard the leftover fibrous bits.
Next, a salad with a rhubarb vinaigrette. And following that, a recipe I found on Chowhound yesterday for chicken thighs braised with rhubarb. Lightly sweetened with honey and laden with pie spices, it should prove at least edible. I'll serve it with plain steamed rice though I'm already wondering about adding coconut, lemon grass or mint.
