Food

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

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What to Cook Now: Strawberries and Rhubarb

Recipes and tips for the season's best ingredients

Fragrant, sweet strawberries and tart, lip-puckering rhubarb are spring's finest match. In gorgeous hues of ruby red and rosy pink, this dynamic duo makes its delicious debut in April. To get you cooking, we've picked some of our favorite recipes that make the most of these irresistible ingredients.

TIPS:

Shop for Sweetness

Look for rhubarb with moderately thin, crisp, dark pink to red stalks. Greener, thicker stalks can be stringier, coarser, and more sour. Deep red stalks are sweeter and richer. Smaller strawberries tend to have more flavor than larger ones. Look for brightly colored, plump berries, preferably with the green caps still attached.

Remove Rhubarb Leaves

Rhubarb's thick, celery-like stalks can grow up to two feet long. They're the only edible part of the plant—the leaves contain oxalic acid and can be toxic.

Store Strawberries Properly

The first thing to do with strawberries after getting them home is to take them out of the store container and place them in a single layer in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Don't rinse strawberries or remove their caps until just before serving.

RECIPES:

A Little of Both

Rhubarb Lattice Pie with Cardamom and Orange

Rhubarb Sabayon with Strawberries

Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps with Cardamom and Nutmeg

Roasted Rhubarb with Rosé Water and Strawberry Sorbet

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote with Matzo Streusel Topping

Strawberries

Strawberry Icebox Pie with Almond Crust

Strawberry Shortcakes

Avocados with Strawberry Salsa and Crispy Tortilla Strips

Strawberry Milk Shakes

Strawberry Clouds

Rhubarb

Open-faced Rhubarb Tart

Rhubarb Crisp with Buttermilk Ice Cream

Rhubarb Sorbet with Vanilla Rhubarb Compote

Baked Ham with Mustard-Red Currant Glaze and Rhubarb Chutney

Pork Tenderloin with Rhubarb-Currant Chutney

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From the Community…

Comments 1-3 of 3
  • J.J.M.'s Avatar
    Posted by J.J.M. Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:44am PDT

    Rhubarb Pie is quite possibly the most sickeningly sweet thing on the planet, and I've tried three different recipes from three different cooks. It's great, but 2 or 3 pieces, and soda tastes salty by comparison.

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