Now in season, bracingly tart rhubarb deserves more than just pie

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Rhubarb is in season and the red stalks deserves a bigger role at mealtime.

Just don’t call it a fruit.

“It might look like red celery,” sayss Sheri Castle in her book “The New Southern Garden Cookbook,” “but rhubarb is a member of the buckwheat family and a close relative of sorrel and dock, which might explain why it is so sour.”

Its tartness means it plays well with rich meats, sauces and beverages, plus pairs with strawberries, raspberries and apples.

But remember: Eat only the stalks. The leaves are toxic, notes the USDA’s Healthy Meals Resource (healthymeals.nal.usda.gov).

Castle’s book offers this accompaniment to “everything from french fries to fine cheeses.”

Spiced rhubarb ketchup

4 cups trimmed, chopped rhubarb
1 cup chopped red onion
¼ cup golden raisins
¾ cup sugar
½ cup each unfiltered cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar) and orange juice
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon peeled, finely grated ginger
½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon, whole yellow mustard seeds and kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons ruby port

Stir together in a large, non-aluminum saucepan rhubarb; red onion; golden raisins; sugar; unfiltered cider vinegar or white wine vinegar and orange juice; orange zest; finely grated ginger; ground cinnamon, whole yellow mustard seeds, kosher salt and cloves. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover and set aside 30 minutes.

Return saucepan to stove. Cook over medium heat until rhubarb is very tender and liquid is thick enough to coat back of a spoon; about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in ruby port; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled. Keeps up to 3 weeks. Makes 3 cups.