Rhubarb & Rose Compôte

There are two rhubarb seasons - one is late winter, early spring, when the crops of pink, forced rhubarb are available, and one is the summer, when the abundant crops of green rhubarb are endlessly sprouting stalks in veg patches and borders up and down the land.

This recipe is designed for the former, the pink kind, particularly if you intend to serve the compote appetisingly atop a crepe, yoghurt or cake. While the green summer kind will taste exactly the same, it will not have the aesthetic appeal of the pink winter version, especially if you want to turn the puree into some other topping like on a cheesecake.

If you only want it for the flavour and don’t need any of the colour, this recipe will produce the same result either which way.

My recipe below is my own.

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PORTION SIZE

Makes about 700ml – roughly the amount of 2 large mugs.

INGREDIENTS

600g rhubarb (about 10 stalks) **forced, pink ones will make a pink compote; the green summer rhubarb will be a sludgy green colour

100g golden caster sugar

1 to 1 ½ tsp rose water

1-2 drops pink food colouring (optional)

Ratios

• 100% fruit, 15% sugar

• Approx. ½ tsp rose extract per 300g fruit

Variations

• with orange or lime zest – omit the rose water and zest the citrus fruit onto the compôte just after it comes out the oven. Stir to combine.

• with strawberries — swap half the rhubarb for strawberries

• With vanilla – stir 2 tsp vanilla paste onto the compôte just after it comes out the oven. Stir to combine.

• With rosé wine or liqueurs – add 2 tbsp rose wine, elderflower liqueur, Grand Marnier, Chambord etc. to the roasting tin with the raw rhubarb and sugar. Roast together.

• With cardamom – grind the seeds of 4 cardamom pods and add to the roasting tin with the raw rhubarb and sugar. Roast together.

METHOD

Heat oven. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan

Prep rhubarb and any extras. Cut the rhubarb into large chunks and place in a roasting tin with the sugar. If any of your extras need to go in before roasting, add here.

Roast. Cover with foil and cook for 15‐20 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the sugar has dissolved into a lovely pink syrup. Expect it to be pretty wet.

Finish. Stir in the rosewater (or any other optional extras, and a drop or two of pink food colouring if you want to amp up the colour), then spoon into a bowl and set aside to cool completely.

USES

• Dollop onto rice pudding, porridge or crepes

• Blend into a smoothie

• Use as a fruit puree for cheesecake topping

• Serve alongside a cake (particularly a dense type of cake such as a Madeira cake or olive oil cake)