Rhubarb…of all the wonderful spring-seasonal foods, this may be my very favorite. I’ve gone through at least 5 pounds of it so far, too caught up in devouring it to snap any pictures. I recently made another batch of compote, though, and finally found a moment to capture its lovely pinkish-mauve hue.
I’ve been eating the compote on practically everything, especially spooned in thick, messy swirls with a dish of Greek yogurt. Regular yogurt is good, too, but the Greek stuff is so much creamier and more luxurious, which perfectly complements the tartness of the rhubarb.
Posting about something as simple as compote feels a bit like cheating, but the new job has still not left me as much time to cook and blog as much as I’d like (although I hope to change that soon with more diligent scheduling). I’ve suffered a few kitchen disasters recently, too, the most recent of which was a positively disgusting attempt at a vegetarian (i.e., no gelatine) and heavy-cream-free strawberry bavaroise. Without going into the gory details, let’s just say that sometimes there is just no substitute for the dairy power of heavy cream. On the (literally) brighter side, the sun has at last been shining its face regularly, so there are now plenty of opportunities for evening photographs.
The rhubarb compote doesn’t need much of a recipe, but I’ll include one anyway as a sort of guideline, with encouragement for personalization. I’ll admit to being a bit of a rhubarb purist and don’t often mix my rhubarb with anything but a smidge of sugar and lemon, but I’ve recently opened up to crystallized ginger and raspberries, which are excellent mix-ins. However you make it, rhubarb compote is terrific on pancakes, toast, panna cotta, grilled pork chops, ice cream, ricotta, and, well…just about anything that needs a little something tart, sweet, and tangy to cheer it up. It also freezes beautifully.
Rhubarb Compote
I like my compote very tangy, but feel free to use extra sugar (up to 1/4 cup more) if you prefer it a bit sweeter
1 1/2 pounds of rhubarb, washed and leaves removed, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup granulated sugar
juice from half a lemon
Mix all ingredients together in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook on a medium flame, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is very soft and almost syrupy - about 15 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate in an airtight container for one week.