Growing up in the Fraser Valley, my Grandma had a prolific rhubarb patch in her backyard. Every year it would explode with ruby red stalks and giant green leaves. For most of the summer we ate rhubarb in pies, crisps, over ice cream, in yogurt, etc. etc. etc. On warm summer days, we would even pull stalks up right out of the ground, dip them in sugar and eat them raw. Needless to say eventually our love of rhubarb became saturated and we froze or gave the neighbours the rest of our supply.
One of my Grandma's favourite ways to enjoy fresh or frozen rhubarb throughout the year was to stew the pieces in a pot with a little bit of sugar or honey and lemon juice.
I was recently reading an article in Canadian Living magazine and it talked about roasting rhubarb to get more of a tart, yet caramelized flavour. So, I decided why not give it a try. To be honest, I thought I was not going to like it, being a stewing purist, but I actually prefer it to stewing now (sorry Grandma!). The rhubarb is broken down much faster and does have a wonderful full-flavour.
Seeing that it's spring and my rhubarb plant pots are starting to sprout, I plan on roasting my way through the rhubarb season!
Roasted Rhubarb
Ingredients
4 cups of 2" rhubarb pieces cut on diagonal
1/4 - 1/3 cup sugar (you can add more if you like sweeter)
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla if you don't have a bean)
1 tsp lemon juice + zest
Method
Head oven to 400 degrees and line a 9X13" pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl combine all ingredients and let macerate for 15 minutes to release the juices. Pour ingredients into pan and spread out evenly along bottom.
Place pan in oven and roast for 20 minutes until rhubarb is tender and just starting to break down. Remove from oven and let cool.
Serve over greek yogurt (as in photos), ice cream, on cakes, pancakes or alongside pork as a side dish. Or enjoy it on it's own.
Enjoy!
Krista
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