Rhubarb is a somewhat strange food with an utterly fascinating and wonderful flavor and texture. It is also peculiar in that it is botanically a vegetable, but is more or less officially considered a fruit and is treated as such culinarily.
The opposite is much more common: a botanical fruit being regarded and used as a vegetable, such as tomatoes, winter squash, zucchini and cucumbers.
Although it resembles pink celery, rhubarb is actually a member of the buckwheat family and a close relative of sorrel, which explains its profoundly sour flavor. In order to be edible, it must not only be cooked, but also sweetened.
These traits, plus its fibrous texture, make rhubarb seem much less approachable than other, more straightforward fruit. Once you discover how beautifully rhubarb behaves in a sweet framework, such as a pie, cake or cobbler, I guarantee you’ll want to bake with it frequently during its short spring season.
If you love it so much that you’ll want to extend its availability into summer, fall and winter, know that rhubarb freezes perfectly in whole stalks, or cut into any size. Seal it in a heavy plastic bag and freeze it straight, without further fuss. You can cook or bake it directly from the freezer, without defrosting it first.
Here’s a simple little recipe to introduce any novice to the joys of rhubarb. Serve this for brunch or tea, as well as for dessert.
Buttermilk-rhubarb coffeecake
1½ cups chopped rhubarb (in 1/4-inch pieces)
3 tablespoons sugar
Nonstick spray for the pan
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (see note)
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon (large pinch) baking soda
½ cup buttermilk
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for a glass pan). Place the chopped rhubarb in a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Let stand while preparing the batter.
Spray an 8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
Place the softened butter in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, and cream together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla.
In a second bowl, stir together the dry ingredients until uniformly blended.
Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir thoroughly, but minimally, until combined. Don’t overmix.
Fold in the rhubarb, and transfer the batter to the pan. The batter will be somewhat stiff, and might seem to resist being spread into the pan. Be patient, and give the spreading process a few minutes of your time and attention. If it doesn’t look completely uniform in the pan, that’s OK.
Use the same bowl (no need to clean it) to mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle this on top of the batter.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted all the way into the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 1 8-inch-square cake
Note: Unwrap the butter ahead of time, and place it directly in the mixing bowl to soften.
Mollie Katzen is the author of “Moosewood Cookbook” (Ten Speed Press). To contact her, go to www.molliekatzen.com.
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