Last updated 19:42, Thursday, 10 July 2008

THIS week we’re talking rhubarb. Hopefully you don’t think that we do that every week!

Again a very versatile vegetable and yes, it is a vegetable although we seem to class and use it as a fruit.

Apparently the vegetable classification comes from the fact that we eat the stems rather than the fruit of the plant.

Rhubarb is a very hardy plant that is easy to grow as it almost takes care of itself.

It is frost resistant and in fact some say it benefits from some frost to improve the stems.

Rhubarb would probably survive total neglect which is why it might be good for us to have in our garden as we’re not exactly green fingered.

But back to the job in hand, we’ve got three ways with rhubarb for you to display its versatility.

The first is pretty traditional, the second a little more unusual and the third probably something that you may not have tried before….give them a go!

This is the ultimate in comfort food. Serve it with cream, ice cream, crème fraiche or custard.

10 sticks rhubarb, trimmed and rinsed

4 tbsp water

8 tbsp caster sugar

1-2 pieces stem ginger

110g butter

10g demarara sugar

190g plain flour

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Cut the rhubarb into roughly three inch chunks. Put onto a baking tray and sprinkle over the caster sugar and water.

Roast in the oven for ten minutes to soften.

Finely chop the stem ginger and combine it with the rhubarb.

Place the flour into a large bowl. Pop in the butter and combine the two ingredients by rubbing with your finger tips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the sugar and mix well with your hands to disperse the sugar through the flour.

Put the rhubarb into the bottom of an oven proof dish big enough to hold the crumble. Top it with the flour mixture.

Bake in the oven at the same temperature for around 40-45 minutes.

Use this chutney in a traditional way such as in a sandwich or on a ploughman’s lunch. For something more exciting, it goes extremely well with fatty meats like duck as the sharpness of the rhubarb cuts through the fat in the meat. It would be lovely with freshly cooked duck breast, but if you’re not confident enough to give that a go, serve with some smoked duck breast and salad for a lovely starter.

500g rhubarb, trimmed and rinsed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

100ml cider or white wine vinegar

Zest and juice of one orange

2 pieces of star anise, cracked in half

200g sugar

Salt and pepper

Slice the rhubarb into fairly small chunks.

Heat the onion, vinegar, orange juice and zest, star anise, sugar and a pinch of salt and pepper in a wide-based non-aluminum pan.

Bring to a rolling boil for about five minutes then add the rhubarb.

Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until slightly reduced.

You can make this chutney now to store for a later date. If that is the case, put it into a 500ml sterilised jar, still hot, at this point.

To serve now, leave to cool slightly. You can serve it warm. Leftovers will keep for a week in the fridge.

This would be a beautiful and slightly unusual drink to serve on a lovely summer day at a barbecue. Beware it is very potent so serve it long, over ice with a mixer like soda or lemonade. You could serve it Pimms style with fresh fruit and mint sprigs.

It does have to be bottled and matured, so unfortunately we might have missed the boat for this summer unless the weather keeps up. Fingers crossed.

1 litre/1¾ pints vodka

rhubarb sticks, trimmed and rinsed

Zest of ½ a lemon

3 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

3 tbsp sugar

Crush rhubarb with a mortar and pestle or in a large bowl with the end of a rolling pin. Place in a kilner jar with the sugar and leave to macerate for two days.

Add the cloves, cinnamon and lemon zest and cover with vodka.

Leave the jar in a cool dark place for three weeks, but shake daily.

Filter through muslin, re-bottle and leave for three months before drinking.