Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce, Two Ways
In my garden, the first harbinger of spring is rhubarb. My rhubarb is of the green variety, but at the market last week, I saw that North Mountain Produce had bunches of beautifully red rhubarb. My husband loves a strawberry-rhubarb pie (who doesn’t!), but I wanted something a little more versatile. After picking up a chocolate bar from Apalache Chocolate, and spinach from Season’s Bounty Farm, I had an idea. In this recipe, I first made a sweet strawberry-rhubarb sauce, perfect for topping ice cream sprinkled with chocolate. Then I took part of the sauce, and turned it into a salad dressing, which I served over a spinach, strawberry, goat cheese, and pecan salad. I’ve used both sauces several times this week - give it a try!
By Paige Wilmer, our newest recipe writer. She and her husband Cody run The Long Acre Elderberry Farm.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the sweet strawberry rhubarb sauce:
1 bunch rhubarb (5-6 stalks), cut into 1 inch pieces*
a pint of strawberries, topped and halved
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup water
fresh mint (optional)*
Ingredients to add to turn into salad dressing:
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
*These ingredients can be found at the Harrisonburg Farmers Market, check What’s Fresh to see what’s in season
Method
In a sauce pot, add rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, and water. Stir together. Slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add mint if using, and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
Allow sauce to cool slightly. Use an immersion blender (you could use a food processor or blender, but I appreciated not having to dirty either of those) to get a smooth consistency. You now have a sweet strawberry rhubarb sauce! Use right away, or store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Serve with ice cream, oatmeal, waffles, yogurt, or whatever you think needs a sweet and tart addition!
Take ½ cup of the sweet sauce, and add to a pint size mason jar. Add lemon juice, EVOO, and salt and pepper. Put a tight lid on the mason jar, and shake vigorously until thoroughly combined. You can of course use something other than a mason jar, but I think shaking it in the jar is an easy way to emulsify the dressing. You can also store the dressing in the mason jar in the fridge for about a week. Use on all your salads, and get the early taste of spring in every bite.
