Rhubarb Mustard Food

RHUBARB & CUSTARD MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt, sugar and ground ginger. Rub in the butter until you have a breadcrumb consistency, then add 30-50ml of cold water, stirring with a flat-bladed knife until the crumbs form a dough. Knead the pastry briefly until smooth, then wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Arrange the rhubarb in the tray in a neat layer, scatter over 250g of the sugar and scrape out the vanilla pod over it. Add the orange juice and zest and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 20-30 mins, until the rhubarb is soft. Remove from the oven and cool. Strain off the syrup using a sieve - you'll need this later for the meringue.
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Line a 20cm tart tin, leaving an overhang. Pop into the fridge to chill for 30 mins. Once chilled, cover the case with baking parchment, fill with baking beans and blind bake for 25 mins, until golden. Remove the baking beans and bake for 5 mins more to crisp up the bottom. Allow to cool, then remove from the tin to a plate.
• For the custard, combine the remaining sugar with the egg yolks and whisk vigorously, until really pale and frothy. Gently heat the cream and milk in a pan until it's almost boiling. Remove from the heat and briefly allow to cool before pouring a little of the cream mix onto the egg yolks and stirring to combine. Pour the egg yolk mix back into the pan and heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 5 mins). Remove from the heat and pour into a jug or mixing bowl.
• Divide the rhubarb in half, reserving the pinkest, prettiest lengths. Blitz the other half to a purée in a food processor and add to the custard. Fill the tart and top with the rhubarb. Chill until needed.
• To make the Italian meringue, measure out 160g of the rhubarb poaching syrup and bring to the boil. You need to it be about 118C (this will cook the egg whites to set the meringue). In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the cream of tartar and mix. When the syrup has reached 118C on a cooking thermometer, carefully pour it down the sides of the stand mixer and whisk until you have a smooth, fluffy meringue. Fill a piping bag with a medium star nozzle and pipe little meringue kisses over the tart. Use a blowtorch to gently scorch the meringue and serve straight away.

RHUBARB MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients and simmer 5 minutes until the rhubarb is soft.
• Remove rhubarb and continue to simmer until the remaining mixture is syrupy.
• Return the rhubarb to the mixture and serve with chicken or duck.

RHUBARB MUSTARD

Steps:

• Dice rhubarb, combine with 2 tablespoons honey.
• Boil with 3/8 cup water, covered, until rhubarb falls apart (about 6 minutes).
• Continue boiling, uncovered, until reduced to half of the liquid.
• In a spice grinder, grind mustard seeds finely - be careful not to let it get hot! Also don't stick your nose into the evaporating odor when you open the grinder, it burns!
• Combine mustard powder with raspberry vinegar, port wine, 2 tablespoons honey and cooled rhubarb, blend with immersion belnder until smooth.
• Chop tarragon and stir inches.
• Let stand, covered, overnight.
• The next day, fill into clean glass jar ad keep refrigerated.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Put the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg yolk, the vanilla and 1 tbsp cold water, and mix together until it just starts to come together as a dough. Tip the mixture onto a clean work surface and gently bring together with your hands. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 1 hr before rolling out. Can be made 3 days ahead, or frozen for 2 months.
• Put the vanilla beans scraped from the pod (or the paste) in a pan over a medium-high heat, add the milk and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, tip the egg, yolks, sugar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk together until smooth. Pour the milk over the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly, for 2-3 mins until thickened. Scrape into a bowl and add the butter, mixing until melted and combined. Press a sheet of cling film onto the surface of the custard to stop a skin forming, and chill for 3 hrs. Can be made and chilled 3 days ahead.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a large rectangle big enough to line a 30 x 20cm fluted rectangular tart tin. Roll the pastry onto the rolling pin and carefully drape it into the tin, carefully lifting and pressing into the corners and edges. Roll your rolling pin over the tart tin, cutting off the excess. Chill for 30 mins or until the pastry is firm.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the tart with a piece of crumpled baking parchment and fill with baking beans or rice and place on a baking tray. Bake for about 30 mins, then remove the parchment and the beans, and return to the oven for another 5 mins or until the base is golden brown. Brush the inside of the tart with the remaining beaten egg yolk and return to the oven for 1 min to set (this creates a seal, meaning the pastry won't become soggy as quickly). Set aside to cool.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the rhubarb batons in a small roasting tin (so that they are in one flat layer) and sprinkle over the sugar, the vanilla pod and its scraped out seeds, and the orange juice. Roast for 15-20 mins, or until the rhubarb has softened but is still holding its shape and a vibrant pink syrup has formed. Remove from the oven, discard the vanilla pod and allow to cool.
• Remove the custard from the fridge, beat to loosen, then pour over the pastry and smooth with a spatula. Top with the roasted rhubarb, brushing a little of the syrup on top, then sprinkle over the pistachios. Best eaten on the day its made.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD CAKE

Steps:

• Make the roasted rhubarb first, carefully draining off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
• Reserve 3 tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it. Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over. Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It's ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD COCKTAIL

Steps:

• To make the rhubarb syrup, put the caster sugar in a saucepan with 75ml water. Heat very gently, so the sugar disappears but the water doesn't bubble. Tip in the chopped rhubarb, cover with a tight-fitting lid and increase the heat a little so it begins to boil. Simmer, covered, for about 5 mins until the rhubarb is very tender but not disintegrating.
• Turn off the heat, and tip the pan's contents into a fine sieve over a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to gently squeeze the rhubarb so that you get all the juices, but no pulp. Tip back into the pan and boil rapidly for a few mins until just syrupy. Pour into a jug - you should have about 125ml. Leave to cool completely. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.
• Chill 4 cocktail glasses with ice or in your freezer. Shake the vodka and 100ml of the rhubarb syrup together with ice until mixed and chilled down. Make small shreds of rhubarb using a vegetable peeler and place into iced water - this will make them curl up.
• In a separate jug, whisk together the advocaat and lemonade with more ice to lighten. Divide the vodka and rhubarb mixture between the glasses, straining through a small sieve to catch the ice.
• Carefully pour 25ml of your advocaat mixture into each glass over an upsidedown spoon (the mixture should float on the surface of the vodka syrup mixture). Drain the rhubarb shreds well and use to garnish your cocktails.

RHUBARB & CUSTARD MUFFINS

Steps:

• Prepare the Roasted rhubarb, then cool and drain off the juices (the juice is good mixed into plain yogurt). Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin paper cases. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, egg, orange zest and soured cream until there are no lumps and all are completely combined. Gently mix in the flour, then fold in the rhubarb.
• Divide 3⁄4 of the batter evenly between the paper cases to generously fill. Using a spoon, press in the centre of each muffin to make a dip. Fill each dip with a small blob of chilled custard, then gently smooth the rest of the muffin mix over the custard. Bake for 25-30 mins or until risen, pale golden and oozing custard. Sprinkle each with a little caster sugar while still warm. Best eaten the day they are made.