Train services aside, nature has a way of keeping us going through the dark and the cold. She drops little gifts in our lap: aday of crisp, clear sunshine; amorning of exquisite frost; and some winter food treats, too. January brings us our most outrageously coloured native food: the Barbie-pink stems of the early rhubarb crop. This is a fruit to open the eyes, sharpen the appetite and raise the spirits with its glorious, bright, palate-cleansing flavour.
Then again, rhubarb is not a fruit at all – it's a vegetable, the stem of aperennial plant. And the early crop has been ingeniously manipulated. Its slender girth and bright colour are the effects of "forcing". Almost 100 years ago, the received wisdom goes, rhubarb was being grown in London at the Chelsea Physic Garden when someone accidentally left an upturned bucket on top of one of the plants. The rhubarb, struggling in this light-deprived environment, produced long, thin stems and pale, etiolated leaves, and the flavour wasdeemed so exquisite that the accident soon became a technique.
Although it's native to Siberia, Ithink of rhubarb as one of ours, not least because the best January rhubarb comes, indisputably, from Yorkshire, from an area between Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford known as the "rhubarb triangle". Ithas found a spiritual home here, where the cold, wet weather and rich soil help the "crowns" to lay down energy before the forcing period. Indeed, a few years ago, Yorkshire rhubarb was awarded PDO (protected designation of origin) status.
After the two or three years needed for the crowns to develop, they are transferred to dark forcing sheds, where the pale pink shoots grow rapidly in their desperate search for light. They are harvested by hand, in candlelight, so as not to allow even ahint of photosynthesis to take place. The first stems are usually cut in December and the season lasts until April. Then it's only a short wait for the thicker, greener, outdoor crop.
Early and maincrop rhubarb are pretty much interchangeable in cooking – using one or the other will not cause you any problems, though the maincrop stuff will possibly need a sprinkle more sugar. But the early, pink variety is alittle more delicate, a touch more effervescent and floral. A simple compote of this blushing young vegetable is adelightful way to start a winter's day, especially with a blob of creamy yoghurt and aribbon of honey.
Rhubarb is packed with juice, which it releases readily when cooked, so you need add little or no liquid. Apart from the water that clings after washing, I generally add only a squeeze of orange juice. Baking is one of my favourite ways of preparing rhubarb: cooked gently at low heat (as in the compote recipe below), it should soften beautifully and keep its shape. Too hot an oven and the pieces will "explode", which means they look less pretty, though they taste just as good. Even simpler is to simmer it gently in a pan with sugar and orange juice or a splash of water. If you want it to hold its shape, don't stir, but turn now and then, and remove from the heat when tender but not collapsed.
Rhubarb is very acidic, of course, and needs sweetening, but once you've got that sweet-sharp balance right, it's wonderful partnered with strong, assertive flavours: orange zest, vanilla, rosewater, ginger, honey, even hard, winter-proof herbs such as thyme or rosemary. Rhubarb has enough backbone to carry these lovely, punchy aromatics and still deliver its own distinctive, pink-frilled, can-can kick.
Oatmeal-coated mackerel with rhubarb
Oily fish and tart fruit is an old pairing and a very good one. Gooseberries are good in summer, but at this time of year lightly poached rhubarb does the trick. This works well with herring, too. Serves two.
150g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 3-4cm lengths
15g caster sugar
1 pinch fresh thyme leaves (optional)
2 fillets from 1 large mackerel (or4smaller fillets)
100g medium oatmeal
Rapeseed or sunflower oil, for frying
30g butter (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Put the rhubarb, sugar, thyme (if using) and a tablespoon of water into a saucepan, and cook gently, barely simmering and partly covered, for five to seven minutes. Don't stir the rhubarb or it will lose its shape. When tender, remove from the heat.
Season the fish all over. Spread out the oatmeal on a plate and coat the fillets in it, pressing it on well. (Ifthe oatmeal doesn't stick, brush the fillets with alittle milk and try again.) Gently shake off any excess.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in alarge frying pan over medium heat. Add the coated mackerel fillets skin-side down and cook for two minutes. Carefully flip over and cook for aminute or two more, until cooked through. If you like, add a knob of butter at the last minute and, as it sizzles and foams, swirl it around and spoon over the fish – this enriches the crust. Transfer to warmed plates and serve with a spoonful of compote, good bread and/or a green salad.
Rhubarb, apple and ginger crumble
As crumbles go, this is quite light, not too sweet, and has a lovely zing from the ginger. Serves four to six.
750g cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tbsp syrup from a jar of preserved ginger
2 tbsp caster sugar
300g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into3-4cm lengths
2 balls preserved ginger, finely chopped
For the crumble topping
150g plain flour
A pinch of salt
125g cold unsalted butter, diced
75g light brown or caster sugar
75g ground almonds
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the apples in a saucepan with the ginger syrup, sugar and two tablespoons of water. Bring to asimmer and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes – you want the apple to be tender but not broken down into a mush. Remove from the heat and stir in the pieces of rhubarb and preserved ginger. Taste and add more sugar if needed (the tartness of cooking apples can vary), but keep it pleasantly tart and fresh. Transfer to a 20cm square oven dish or similar.
To make the crumble topping, sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, then add the cold butter. Use your fingertips lightly to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and ground almonds. With your hands, squish the mix into clumps, then crumble it over the fruit in the oven dish so the topping is nicely uneven and nubbly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling away underneath. Servewith custard or ice-cream.
Rhubarb and rosewater compote with shortbread
Rosewater brings out the slightly floral quality of new season forced rhubarb, but if it isn't your thing, use orange flower water or a few drops of vanilla extract instead. The compote is delicious as it is, or with a little thick plain yoghurt or lightly whipped cream, but it's very good with fresh shortbread. Serves four.
500g rhubarb, cut into 5cm pieces
50g caster sugar
½-2 tsp rosewater
For the shortbread
100g very soft unsalted butter
50g caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
50g rice flour
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Heat the oven to 160C/320F/gas mark 3. Put the rhubarb in an oven dish with just the water that clings to it after washing, and toss with the sugar. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender. Leave to cool completely, then gently stir in the rosewater, starting with just half a teaspoon, adding a little more at a time and tasting between each addition, until you have the depth of flavour that suits you.
For the shortbread, beat the butter and sugar until thoroughly blended. Sift in the rice flour, flour and salt and, with a wooden spoon, bring together into a crumbly dough. Use your hands to bring the dough into aball. Roll out to around 5mm thick, transfer to a tray and chill for an hour.
Heat the oven to 160C/320F/gas mark 3. Line a baking sheet with nonstick parchment or silicone liner. Cut the dough into discs with a cookie cutter, transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until a very pale golden brown. Cool on a rack, and store in an airtight box or jar .
