It wouldn’t be a seasonal newsletter without rhubarb in spring. Everyone perks up visibly to see the cheerfully-coloured sticks poking out of baskets by the handful at the Saturday market.
We all know about rhubarb crumbles and the striking geometric rhubarb tarts of Instagram, but this time I also wanted to look at the savoury side of rhubarb (if only because my one-a-day habit of now-discounted Malteser Bunnies is quieting my sugar cravings).
First things first, I made a jar of Pickled Rhubarb. I served some in a Fior di Latte, Beetroot, Pickled Rhubarb and Candied Walnut Salad with an olive oil dressing made of its own pickling juice. I also nibbled a bit of it as a perky accompaniment to smoked mackerel, or tossed with rocket as a side salad.
The rest of the Pickled Rhubarb spent a week inebriating itself in a jar of gin in the fridge, imparting its tang for mouth-puckering blush pink Pickled Rhubarb Martinis.
One night when the weather changed tack and we had rain lashing at the kitchen window, I tried my hand at an almost-certainly-inauthentic version of the Persian khoresh e-rivas, a herby, aromatic and deeply warming Beef and Rhubarb Stew with Saffron Rice. It's a bit sour and very moreish.