Rhubarb Compote with Vanilla Sauce
Rhubarb Compote is a popular way to cook rhubarb and it's certainly versatile. Pieces of rhubarb are tossed with sugar and left to sit until moisture begins to appear in the pan. Cook over a low simmer for about 15 minutes until the fruit turns completely soft.
The result is a kind of jam that can be delicious on its own as a compliment to roast pork or duck breasts in the same way that cranberry sauce is used with turkey.
Beside making the compote below, you can also add spoonfuls of this "jam" to sweetened whipped cream to make "Rhubarb Fool," or serve it warm as a sauce on ice cream (on top of home-made strawberry ice cream would be wonderful), or stirred into plain yogurt, or as a side to a plain slice of pound cake.
Because of its high amount of acid, rhubarb is best cooked in non-reactive cookware. Do not use cast iron to cook the rhubarb in.
Note: measurements were initially in grams. Measurements may not be precise.
Rhubarb Compote
1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cleaned, scraped and cut into larger sized pieces
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 oz. water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tablespoons of water
1/4 - 1/3 cups sugar
Vanilla Sauce
3 egg yolks
scant 1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 vanilla pod
For the Rhubarb Compote:
Place the rhubarb with about 2 tablespoons of sugar in a saucepan. Set aside for approx. 15 minutes until the juices are drawn out.
Pour about 3.5 oz water and the lemon juice into the sauce pan with the rhubarb and bring to a boil. Covered, simmer for 4-5 minutes. In a small cup or bowl mix the cornstarch with 6 tablespoons of water to a smooth mixture. Pour into the rhubarb mixture and simmer for a further 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the 1/4 - 1/3 cups of sugar. Give it a taste; if the compote is still too tart then add another few teaspoons. Set aside to cool completely.
To serve, spoon the Rhubarb Compote into serving bowls and top with warm or chilled Vanilla Sauce.
For the Vanilla Sauce:
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch, sugar and vanilla sugar to a smooth paste. Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Whisk in the milk.
Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and pod into the egg-milk mixture.
Heat mixture in a pan over a medium heat until the sauce thickens. Do not allow to boil. Remove the vanilla pod and serve either warm or chilled as noted above.
