Tomato Pasta #12 | The forced rhubarb edition
Pretty in pink. Innit.
Each year, a frankly obscene number of column inches are devoted to Valentine’s Day — and in particular, the food we should apparently be cooking. Weirdly, no one ever mentions what’s hiding in plain sight: cooking for your lover (fingers crossed), is basically the same as feeding kids.
Honestly, it really is the exact same formula:
Have to hand some fresh, crunchy, on the face of it healthy but not overly filling things ready to stave off hanger while you pull the meal together.
Pasta.
Then something sweet that appears low-key, yet is also a tiny bit impressive and exciting … but if interest is lacking, can be packed away without waste or pissing off the cook (that’s you).
So basically it’s:
Dippy snacky bits, including cucumber.
Tomato pasta for the kids; linguine alle vongole for your Valentine (use this one by
).Plus the dessert I’ve detailed below: a forced rhubarb kinda fool with pistachio crumb and mascarpone shards thing. Which is ace. There will be leftovers if you’re just two (fine, repurpose for breakfast). Or, if the spark has been replaced by sproglets and it’s just another Friday night, then there’ll be enough to feed them too.
Do give it a go — whether ‘it’ is the perfectly pink rhubarb, the mascarpone shards, or the whole caboodle.
Cheers, Ed.
The Recipe
Is broken down into a few elements. All of them are keepers, and you should adapt and use with other things as and when you wish.
For example, longtime Instagram followers will recognise the rhubarb method as my go-to way to ensure Barbie-pink yet still intact forced rhubarb; and the mascarpone shards as one of my easiest hacks for making a dessert look and taste fancy (even/especially if the dessert is basically just breakfast).
Please note
It is essential that you poach the rhubarb the night before you want to eat it. The colour comes from those little pieces patiently sitting, sharing and developing their bright pink party vibe for 12 hours.
1. How to poach rhubarb so that it’s perfectly pink
It’s totally fine, of course, to cook forced rhubarb until it’s soft, mushy and bright pink compote... I love that with rice pudding, baked cheesecakes, porridge, overnight oats and so on.
BUT if you want the pieces of ‘barb to remain intact AND be pink, then you need to cook it very gently (effectively undercook it), and then let it steep.
Loads of ways to string a cat. But this is my preferred method.
Makes 8-10 servings
500g forced rhubarb
c.40g caster sugar (see below)
c. 200ml water (see below)
Trim the rhubarb, removing any leafy bits at the top, and any white/pale pink bits at the bottom*. Cut the sticks into 2cm pieces. It’s important that they’re the same size so that everything cooks evenly. Weigh what you have. It’ll probably be about 400g, but weigh it anyway.
Wash the rhubarb, drain, then spread in one layer over a wide stainless steal saucepan (or another non-reactive material — i.e. pyrex or enamel are fine (provided there’s no damage), but not cast or spun iron, non-stainless steel etc).
Measure 10% of the rhubarb’s weight in caster sugar and sprinkle over the top of the rhubarb. Ideally leave it for 15-20 minutes to macerate, as this helps the cells open and speed the colour sharing process a little.
Now add 50% of the rhubarb’s weight in water. It’ll probably get close to the tops of the rhubarb pieces.
Place over a low-medium heat and very carefully bring to the gentlest simmer — absolutely no boiling nor energetic simmering neither. From the point the pan begins to show very small bubbles and produce a wisp of steam, keep control of the temperature and cook for 5 minutes, so that some edges begin to soften, but the middles should be firm to touch / provide resistance if you poke them with a little spike.
Turn the heat off. Cover with a lid. Let the rhubarb steam inside the pot for 2-10 minutes. It’s up to your judgement now — remove the lid once around 25% are noticeably soft (but the rest remain bouncy). The water will be getting cloudier and ever so slightly pink. Leave to cool for 15 minutes with the lid off.
Carefully decant into a smaller container, so that all the pieces are submerged under poaching liquor. Allow to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Wait for at least 12 hours and you’ll see the rhubarb pieces turn uniformly, intensely pink. Will keep for 2-3 days (probably OK to eat for a it longer, but they become a bit soggy and break up).
I appreciate there’s some loose instruction at the key stages (4. & 5.). Ultimately it requires your judgement and a bit of trial and error. The main takeaway is that if you think you’re undercooking, then you’re on the right track.
If you’d like a visual, this old Instagram reel of mine will help (fwiw they’re actually slightly overcooked, so keep that in mind).
* You might end up trimming 5-8cm from the bottom — these pale bits are ‘takers’ when it comes to creating a pot of pinkness, so better to utilise them elsewhere. You could, for example, slice finely and pickle with some ginger strips, taken with a speed peeler, to create a sushi-pickle-like condiment.
2. Iced mascarpone shards
Do this 5 minute task while you’re waiting for the rhubarb to cool down; then it’s done and will be ready whenever you want it.
You’ll need a silicon mat. If you don’t already have one, change that. They’re very useful. The Silpat brand is the OG, but really any will do. 14” x 10” (so approx 36cm x 25cm) is a good size for home baking sheets and (crucially) freezer drawers.
Makes enough for 6 servings (at least)
125g mascarpone
2 tsp icing sugar* (powdered/confectioners sugar)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Decant the mascarpone into a small mixing bowl. Add the icing sugar and vanilla, then use the back of a spoon or spatula to beat it together. You’ll find that, surprisingly quickly, the cheese slackens and the mix becomes glossy and loose.
Spoon onto a silicon mat and use a palette knife or similar to spread it all over, so that it’s in one relatively even layer (approx 1mm thick, maybe 2mm in places.
Find a freezer drawer with a little room on top and lay the silicon mat on top. It doesn’t have to sit flat. In fact, rolling waves is good.
Freeze for at least 90 minutes, ideally a little longer. Then either break into large shards to order. Or, if freezer rearrangement is required / you are just two and so have leftovers, then break into usable pieces and store in a suitable container (still in the freezer, obviously) until needed.
NB although akin to an instant ice cream, this does thaw quickly. So remove from the freezer and transfer plates at the very last minute.
* Eagle-eyed readers will notice that in this video I used some old golden icing sugar and failed to break remove clumps before chucking it in… Obviously a white sugar will lead to a brighter white shard; and avoiding clumps will mean there’s no imperfections.
3. A kind of rhubarb and stem ginger fool
Deliberately quite subtly; as you’ll add lots more rhubarb when assembling the dish.
Personally I prefer to prepare this at the last minute — for a smoother, lighter dollop of dairy. It will seize up and become a little foamy over time (fine, but not so luscious).
Serves 2 (easily doubled)
1 piece of stem ginger, finely diced
1 tbsp stem ginger syrup
1 tbsp rhubarb poaching juices
6 tbsp (approx 80ml) double (heavy) cream
6 tbsp (approx 75g) Greek-style yoghurt
Put the stem ginger, the syrup, poaching juices and cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Give it a thorough whisk, until the cream is voluminous and just beginning to ribbon and hold its shape (this won’t take long). Fold the yoghurt through the cream and set aside for a moment.
4. The assembly
Once you’ve primed your nuts, everything is good to go.
Serves 2 (easily double)
2 tbsp shelled pistachios
All the other bits you’ve already prepared
Bash and grind the pistachios to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar.
Spoon the pistachio powder into the base of two small bowls. Top with a generous spoonful of the fool. Then an even more generous helping of rhubarb and a little of the pink juice (you’re not in a trendy restaurant – go wild). Then break a palm sized piece of frozen mascarpone from the silicon mat and lay it on top. Eat immediately.
You made it to the end! Thanks for reading. I hope you found this post useful and indeed end up using the recipes. If so, please consider becoming a paid subscriber — that ensures you access to all posts without restriction, and also helps me to continue with the publication. An annual subscription comes in at a few pennies over £4 a month.
Alternatively (or in addition?), take a look at my cookbooks Good Eggs, Crave and On The Side. You might also like my ‘Very Good Eggs’ box of condiments over on DELLI.
Beautiful Ed
Love all this. Wish I’d read it yesterday so I could have already prepped the rhubarb for tomorrow. Will keep it in mind for another occasion. Thank you!