Rhubarb Chicken (Savory Rhubarb Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What's the best way to prepare rhubarb? ›

To prepare: Wash the stems and cut off the leaves and the ends. Cut into 2cm lengths, removing any strings if necessary. Stew or poach in some water and a little sugar. When making a crumble or a pie, the rhubarb does not need to be cooked first.

Roast and purée to make rhubarb fool. Rhubarb can also be added to savoury dishes, as its tartness can stand up to fatty meats like pork and duck well. Try it with pork chops, rhubarb & grains in a new twist on a traybake, or raw and finely chopped as a salsa to go with pan-seared duck breasts and greens.

Use it in a comforting crumble, a classic syllabub, a fruity chutney or a zingy kebab sauce – the possibilities are endless. For more inspiration, see our collection of rhubarb recipes.

Cut away and discard any tough, woody, or bruised parts of the stalks. Wash the stalks thoroughly and scrub with a vegetable brush. You don't need to peel peak-season rhubarb, but by midsummer, the stalks tend to be tough and fibrous. You might need to peel them to make them tastier.

Rhubarb grows best in an open, sunny site with fertile, moist but free-draining soil. It will also cope in light shade. Avoid ground that gets waterlogged, as plants are liable to rot. If your soil is heavy, plant in raised beds or large containers.

When do you have to worry about rhubarb? Rhubarb in your garden that has frozen to the point where the stalks become damaged or mushy should be discarded. Check the leaves, too. If the stalks are firm and upright and the leaves have little damage, the rhubarb is OK.

Rhubarb is also a great source of vitamin K₁, which is important for blood clotting and bone health. A half cup of cooked rhubarb provides more than one-third of the recommended dietary intake of vitamin K₁, along with two grams of fiber (which helps prevent colorectal cancer), some calcium and vitamin C.

Thus, the formulation may be a potential preventive or therapeutic candidate for the treatment of chronic inflammation and arthritis. From these data it can be concluded that in contrast to Rheum species used in medicine, no risk is associated with the use of rhubarb as a food.

Can I freeze fresh rhubarb for later use? ›

You can freeze rhubarb raw, blanched or fully cooked. Regardless of which stage you choose to freeze at, the rhubarb will break down more as it defrosts, so it's best used in dishes where you don't need neat sticks of it.

Herbs: Rhubarb's tartness pairs well with herbs like thyme, mint, and basil, which can add a refreshing and aromatic dimension to the drink. Spices: Spices like ginger, cinnamon and cardamom can add depth and warmth to rhubarb-based co*cktails, and are a great addition to winter co*cktail recipes.

Side effects might include stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and cramps. Rhubarb leaves are possibly unsafe. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid, which can cause stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures, and death. When applied to the skin: Rhubarb is possibly safe.

A cup is a measure of volume while pounds is a measure of weight so a direct calculation is difficult. If we only take liquid weight into account, one cup is eight ounces and two pounds would be 32 ounces so two pounds of rhubarb would equate to 4 cups.

Rhubarb's Dietary Dilemma

But eating too much rhubarb too often might not be a good idea because of possible stress to kidneys and inflammation of joints. It is estimated that an adult would need to eat several pounds of rhubarb to feel ill effects, with 20 to 25 pounds (9 to 11 kg ) of fresh rhubarb as a lethal dose.

To pick rhubarb, hold the stalk firmly, pull and twist. Do not use a knife to cut the stalks from the plant. The knife can carry diseases from plant to plant, and the remaining stalk can be a point of entry for other pests.

Method. Put the rhubarb into a saucepan with the orange zest, juice, sugar and 2 tbsp water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8 mins until the rhubarb is cooked but still holds its shape.

“You do not need to wash the stalks until you are ready to use them or freeze them,” says Cooper. “When you are ready to use fresh rhubarb, rinse them for 20 seconds with water and dry on a clean cloth.” Remove and throw away leaves and trim the ends of the rhubarb. Rinse with water and dry with a clean cloth.