Wednesday 23 May 2012

Rhubarb and apple stew


1 fresh bunch of rhubarb stalks
2 tablespoons of honey
2 fresh apples
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
¼ teaspoon of grated ginger
Water – enough to cover the fruit by three quarters

I love stewed rhubarb with plain yoghurt. Sometimes with a teaspoon of maple syrup on top if I’m feeling wicked. It’s simple to do and the perfect winter recipe.
I tried to grow rhubarb once, but it failed dismally. I think I put it in at the wrong time of year, in the wrong type of soil and then didn’t water it enough. Go figure.
Simply chop the rhubarb into inch sized pieces. Get rid of the poisonous leaves. Try and buy the thin bright red stalks, as they’re sweeter.
Pop this in a saucepan with cored and skinned thick apple pieces. The sweeter the apple, the less honey or sugar you’ll need. I recommend using your old pixie crunch apples with honey, or granny smith apples with sugar (don’t use the fresh pixie crunch apples, because they’re so damn yum you’ll want to eat those before you can pop them in the stew. Just use the ones you may have forgotten about, down the back of the fruit bowl).
Add a quarter of a teaspoon of grated ginger and the lemon juice, to taste.  
Add at least two generous tablespoons of honey. You can increase this as the rhubarb breaks down, if it tastes too tart.
Cover the fruit up to half-way, with water, but not too much because then it will lack texture and become runny.
Bring to the boil, and then set to a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the rhubarb starts to break down and the apple is soft.
Turn off the heat and serve with a generous dollop of yoghurt. Mmm, yum!

No comments: