Wye Valley Produce Recipe Categories Rhubarb

Rhubarb & Vanilla Jam

Serves 2

Ingredients

1kg trimmed rhubarb (cut into 1inch chunks)
1kg jam sugar
2 vanilla pods, halved lengthways
1 lemon, juiced (or more to taste)

Method

Heat the rhubarb, sugar, and vanilla together in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a gentle heat, and keep stirring until all the sugar has dissolved
Add the lemon juice and increase the heat
Boil for around ten minutes, skimming off the scummy top regularly
Check for the setting point by spooning a little onto a plate. After a minute or two prod the jam – if the surface wrinkles up it is ready. If not, keep testing every couple of minutes, taking the jam off the heat in between.
Sterilise your jars and warm them before spooning the jam in and sealing tightly.
Enjoy!

N.B. If you have a sugar thermometer the jam should reach about 105 degrees. The jam should be stored somewhere cool and dark and should keep for up to six months.

Rhubarb Lattice Pie

Serves 8

Ingredients

Butter for greasing
350g all-butter shortcrust pastry (you can use sweetened pastry if you prefer)
600g rhubarb, trimmed before weighing
230g golden caster sugar
Grated zest of 1.5 oranges
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
3 tbsp. ground almonds
Pinch of salt
Egg wash: 1 egg
A few drops of milk

Method

Butter a 23cm tart tin (about 2.5cm deep) and set aside
Roll out about half the pastry until wide enough to line the dish with a little overhang. Place it inside the dish, pressing down into the edges and trim, leaving an overhang
For the lattice: roll out the other half of the pastry into a rectangle and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Chill both for at least half an hour
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
Chop the rhubarb into 1.5inch chunks. Place in a bowl with the sugar, ground almonds, cardamom, orange zest and salt, and toss thoroughly to coat.
Fill the pastry casing with your rhubarb mixture
Remove the rectangle of pastry from the fridge and carefully slice the pastry into long strips around 1cm wide. Arrange the strips over the rhubarb in a lattice pattern and trim, saving three for the edge
For the egg wash, beat the egg and milk in a small bowl with a whisk. Using a pastry brush, coat the lattice with egg wash. Use the last three strips of pastry to cover the rim, and then coat with the rest of the wash
Place the dish in the oven (on a baking tray to catch the drips, and to make it easier to remove). Bake for forty-five minutes, although if your rhubarb is very wet it may take a little longer. Leave it in the dish to cool slightly before transferring to a serving dish, or cool completely if you are serving it cold

Serve with cream, custard, or vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb & Vanilla Jam

Serves 2

Ingredients

1kg trimmed rhubarb (cut into 1inch chunks)
1kg jam sugar
2 vanilla pods, halved lengthways
1 lemon, juiced (or more to taste)

Method

Heat the rhubarb, sugar, and vanilla together in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a gentle heat, and keep stirring until all the sugar has dissolved
Add the lemon juice and increase the heat
Boil for around ten minutes, skimming off the scummy top regularly
Check for the setting point by spooning a little onto a plate. After a minute or two prod the jam – if the surface wrinkles up it is ready. If not, keep testing every couple of minutes, taking the jam off the heat in between.
Sterilise your jars and warm them before spooning the jam in and sealing tightly.
Enjoy!

N.B. If you have a sugar thermometer the jam should reach about 105 degrees. The jam should be stored somewhere cool and dark and should keep for up to six months.

Rhubarb Lattice Pie

Serves 8

Ingredients

Butter for greasing
350g all-butter shortcrust pastry (you can use sweetened pastry if you prefer)
600g rhubarb, trimmed before weighing
230g golden caster sugar
Grated zest of 1.5 oranges
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
3 tbsp. ground almonds
Pinch of salt
Egg wash: 1 egg
A few drops of milk

Method

Butter a 23cm tart tin (about 2.5cm deep) and set aside
Roll out about half the pastry until wide enough to line the dish with a little overhang. Place it inside the dish, pressing down into the edges and trim, leaving an overhang
For the lattice: roll out the other half of the pastry into a rectangle and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Chill both for at least half an hour
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6
Chop the rhubarb into 1.5inch chunks. Place in a bowl with the sugar, ground almonds, cardamom, orange zest and salt, and toss thoroughly to coat.
Fill the pastry casing with your rhubarb mixture
Remove the rectangle of pastry from the fridge and carefully slice the pastry into long strips around 1cm wide. Arrange the strips over the rhubarb in a lattice pattern and trim, saving three for the edge
For the egg wash, beat the egg and milk in a small bowl with a whisk. Using a pastry brush, coat the lattice with egg wash. Use the last three strips of pastry to cover the rim, and then coat with the rest of the wash
Place the dish in the oven (on a baking tray to catch the drips, and to make it easier to remove). Bake for forty-five minutes, although if your rhubarb is very wet it may take a little longer. Leave it in the dish to cool slightly before transferring to a serving dish, or cool completely if you are serving it cold

Serve with cream, custard, or vanilla ice cream.