If you love rhubarb but are a little intimidated by what to do with this seasonal delight, or perhaps you just need an easy recipe in your back pocket, then may I introduce the multipurpose wonder of Simple Roasted Rhubarb! Here, tangy, magenta hued rhubarb is simply roasted with maple sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest, and then served warm, at room temperature, or cold, with any accompaniments that your heart desires.
A seasonal delight
Rhubarb is a favourite of mine during the spring season, and I truly appreciate its incredible ability to transform from the crunchy, lemony sourness of its raw vegetable form into melting, fruity tenderness when cooked. While rhubarb is so often eaten in familiar preparations that use intense sweetness to amplify and sometimes overpower its tangy charms, rhubarb can still surprise an eater with the subtlety of its juicy, fresh, fruity, and floral notes when prepared in other ways. A visual delight, and sweet enough without being cloying, Simple Roasted Rhubarb celebrates all that there is to love about this familiar yet complex ingredient.
Jump to:
Easy instructions
Ready to pop into the oven in just a few minutes, this classic with a twist can be served in as many different ways as you can dream up. In this simple recipe, three ingredients - maple sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest - are added to the cut rhubarb, so that as it bakes, a fragrant syrup is created.
Maple sugar adds nuanced natural sweetness, lemon adds a bright, aromatic herbaceousness, and vanilla, in the astute words of food writer Niki Segnit, is rhubarb’s best friend, allowing the heavenly contrast of “[...] luxurious, floral creaminess with rhubarb’s mouthwatering sour-fruity flavour[...].” I couldn’t agree more.
A quick roast for around 20 minutes in a hot oven and your tender, syrupy, and aromatic rhubarb is ready. Once the rhubarb is cooked through, its colour magnificently intensified, it is left to cool somewhat to allow the syrup to thicken.
Serving variations
Now you can decide if you want to serve the roasted rhubarb warm, at room temperature, or even cold if that suits your fancy. At whatever temperature you determine, you then have a multitude of possibilities on how to serve your Simple Roasted Rhubarb. If you want a specific recipe to follow, Roasted Rhubarb with Maple, Lemon, Vanilla and Yogurt is an easy seasonal treat perfect for dessert or brunch.
If you want to consider your options, may I suggest the following possibilities for serving Simple Roasted Rhubarb:
- on top of toasted and buttered sweet brioche, with a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of icing sugar
- with pouring cream, custard, or greek yogurt, with an extra sprinkle of maple sugar or dash of maple syrup as needed
- with vanilla bean ice cream and crushed shortbread cookies
- if left to chill and thicken in the fridge, as a simple jam on top of any baked good
- alongside any kind of pancake, pikelet, waffle, or french toast
- alongside a slice of chiffon cake, angel food cake, or a simple pound cake
- as part of a seasonal granola bowl with yogurt and fresh red fruits
- dolloped into the middle of a muffin batter as a fruit filling
- served with sliced strawberries, fresh raspberries, and dollop of mascarpone or fresh ricotta
The Food Find
Sweet and tasting purely of maple syrup, Maple Sugar is a natural granulated sugar with a light roasted flavour featuring woody and vanilla flavour notes. Produced when liquid maple syrup is reduced through evaporation, maple sugar is shelf stable, can be stored at room temperature indefinitely, and can also be reconstituted into liquid form. Find out more about maple sugar, where to find it, and ways to use it.
Substitutions
If maple sugar is not available where you live, simply substitute a slighter larger amount of regular liquid maple syrup. If maple syrup is not available, use organic cane sugar in the same quantity as listed for the maple sugar.
Interested in growing rhubarb?
If you happen to have a garden and aren’t already growing rhubarb, it is a surprisingly easy and productive addition to any of your own adventures in growing things. Rhubarb needs only a sunny, undisturbed spot and very little tending, and it provides the grower with far more than it requires in return. Read more about how to grow rhubarb.
Freezing rhubarb for later in the year
If you love rhubarb and find that it is not regularly available throughout the year where you live, as is true in most places, take advantage of the season, cut a few bunches of stalks into 2” lengths, and freeze in silicone pouches, ready to be turned into a springlike delight later on in the year whenever it suits you.
Want to discover more about using rhubarb?
Simple Roasted Rhubarb
Ingredients
- 350 grams rhubarb stalks about 1lb before the leaves are removed
- 60 grams granulated maple sugar or substitute with the same amount of organic cane sugar, or with 70 ml liquid maple syrup
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or substitute pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Set the oven to 400 F and line a baking dish with parchment paper. The baking dish should be just big enough to fit the cut rhubarb pieces in a single layer.
- Wash and dry the rhubarb stalks and discard any leaves, which it should be noted are toxic to humans and animals if consumed. Cut the stalks on the diagonal into 2” sections and place into the lined baking dish, making sure the dish fits the rhubarb snugly.
- Sprinkle the maple sugar on top of the rhubarb, add the lemon zest and vanilla paste, give everything a good toss and then smooth into one layer. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes until a liquid syrup has formed. Note that as rhubarb stalks vary widely from delicate to hefty, your cooking time may take a little less or a little more than noted depending on the girth of your stalks.
- Remove the foil cover and bake for a final 5 minutes, checking that your rhubarb is tender but not disintegrating (although it will still be just as tasty if you have left it too long). Leave on the counter to cool to a warm, not hot temperature, to allow the syrup to thicken, and then serve warm, at room temperature, or refrigerate to serve cold. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply