Whenever I look, I find gorgeous neon pink forced rhubarb. They are tender and a lot prettier than the summer variety, and are begging to be made into something beautiful. Sometimes I use them chopped up with apples and bake together with a crumble topping. Sometimes I stew them in a bit of simple syrup and eat with crushed meringues. Another new favourite thing I learned from the River Café cookbook is to roast them with the zest and juice of a blood orange, vanilla and brown sugar and serve with creme fraiche. So simple, but so flavourful.
I’ve also been on a sort of personal mission to incorporate more fermented foods in my diet. I love eating Kimchi from the Korean store straight from the jar. But I also like the idea of having a shelf lined with colourful pickles and dipping into them when I make sandwiches. Reading the Art of Fermentation, I decided to start with something very simple. Brine pickles. It’s the simplest method – all you need to do is make a brine, add your choice of flavouring of herbs and spices and pour it over the vegetables. Let it sit for a couple of days and your pickle is ready!
To flavour the rhubarb pickle I used cubeb peppers (kebab chini in Hindi), bay leaf and thyme flowers. (If you’re in London, you can find the goreous, fragrant thyme flowers from Daphnis and Chloé at the super cute London Borough of Jam shop at Chatsworth Road.)
Pickled Rhubarb
With learnings from the Art of Fermentation (USA | UK | India)
250g rhubarb or vegetables of your chouce
Herbs and spices of your choice
Brine (low-salt 3.5%):
8g salt
225g water
- Cut and trim the rhubarb and pack it tightly to fit into a jar sterilised jar.
- Bring the salt and water to a boil. Turn off heat. Add the herbs and spices. Let it cool completely.
- Pour it into the jar of rhubarb, making sure to submerge the rhubarb completely. The rhubarb will tend to float up – simply weight it down with something appropriate.
- Let this sit at room temperature for 2-4 days. Keep checking everyday. The time will vary based on the ambient temperature and how sour you want them. Refrigerate up to a month.
PS: chopped up pickled rhubarb is great with oysters.
