Orange-poached Rhubarb with Pistachios
January and February. A time of long, grey days and subtle sunshine. But in the bleak midwinter there is a glimmer of colour, a nod to warmer things to come and the season’s reminder to us that even in the cold, good food and fabulous flavours are within reach. It’s forced rhubarb season.
I love rhubarb with ginger, but there’s something wonderfully delicate about using orange juice to poach these beautiful, pink stems. The flavour is exquisite and I love filling my kitchen with citrusy smells, too, to banish any thoughts of the grey winter.
Orange-poached Rhubarb with Pistachios
Ingredients
500g forced rhubarb (as pink as possible!)
1 large orange, zested and juiced
1 tbsp water
6 tbsp caster sugar
handful chopped pistachios
yogurt to serve
roasting tin
tin foil
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4.
Chop the rhubarb into 5cm chunks and place into a roasting tin.
Add the orange zest and juice, and then the water to the tin.
Sprinkle the sugar all over the rhubarb and cover loosely with tin foil.
Cook for ten minutes and then remove from the oven and turn the rhubarb gently in the juices.
Return to the oven for a further ten minutes, or until the rhubarb is just soft but still retaining its shape. Once this is reached, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Serve with chopped pistachios and yogurt.
