Stewed Rhubarb

Being a fan of stewed fruit of all kind, stewed rhubarb is the firm favourite I make in large batches at the height of the season to enjoy throughout the year.

The season for rhubarb is actually pretty long with forced rhubarb available from December through to March only to then be replaced by field grown rhubarb between April and September.

Despite that, I still like to have a little stash of my stewed rhubarb in the freezer to enjoy as and when I feel like.

Make sure to check our my Stewed Pears with Cinnamon & Vanilla and Easy Stewed Plums recipes.

• Easy to make yet super versatile

• Perfect for batch cooking & freezing

• Freezer friendly so that you can enjoy it all year round

• All you need is 3 ingredients

• Great recipe for rhubarb newbies & to use up that glut of rhubarb

Sometimes the simplest of recipes are the best, the ones that require only handful (if that) of ingredients.

For my stewed rhubarb or call it rhubarb compote if you wish, I use only 3 basic ingredients:

Fresh Rhubarb

Orange (juice & zest) - If you don't have oranges, use 5 tablespoon of orange juice instead. Feel free to use lemon zest instead of orange if you've got one.

You could also go super simple and use water instead of orange juice and even skip zest if you wanted to but I do like that gentle citrus flavour from the orange.

Demerara Sugar - I like using demerara sugar for its caramel-like flavour but any type of sugar will do.

For sugar-free version you could use honey (if not vegan), maple, date or agave syrup to taste. You will need some type of sweetener to counteract the tartness of rhubarb.

Basic, three ingredient stewed rhubarb recipe is very good as is, pure and simple!

Having said that, I do very often play around with some extra additions and flavourings for that bit of extra special flavour and my favourite ones are:

Star Anise - I love its almost perfume-like aroma, it reminds me of Christmas.

Cinnamon - use stick as you cook your compote to infuse it with that woody cinnamon flavour or simply sprinkle some ground cinnamon to taste.

Vanilla - I tend to use vanilla pod but you could flavour your stewed rhubarb with a little bit of extract instead.

Freshly Grated Ginger - use as much or as little as you like, depending on how spicy you want your stewed rhubarb to be.

I would say choose one extra flavouring per batch instead of combining them all with star anise and cinnamon being one exception I happily use together.

Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.

This recipe couldn't be easier to throw together! You really have to love it for almost zero effort!

Prepare your rhubarb by washing and cutting it into chunks. I cut mine into 5cm/2inch pieces.

Put it into a medium size saucepan* together with juice and zest of one orange, sugar and the flavourings of choice.

Cook on a medium heat stirring from time to time (especially at the beginning before rhubarb has released its juices) for anything between 5-10 minutes until tender.

***The exact cooking time will depend on how you'd like to serve your rhubarb and whether you'd like the chunks to hold their shape or you're more after mushier consistency.***

Take the pan off the heat, let it cool slightly and enjoy!

• Make sure you wash your rhubarb thoroughly but there is definitely no need to peel it so save your energy.

• It won't be applicable if you buy your rhubarb in the supermarket but if you happen to grow your own make sure to discard the leaves which are poisonous to humans due to high quantity of oxalic acid.

• Depending on how you'd like to serve your rhubarb you can cut it into smaller or bigger pieces. Early forced rhubarb (which is beautifully pink) looks particularly nice when served in larger pieces that are holding their shape.

• The longer you cook the rhubarb for the mushier it gets so make sure to cook it as per your own preference. You'd aim for rhubarb to be tender when pierced with a knife but it doesn't necessarily need to fall apart (unless you want it to).

• I've come across quite a few recipes that call for adding extra water together with orange juice but I don't think it's necessary as rhubarb releases enough juices the moment you start cooking it.

Stewed rhubarb should last in your fridge for a couple of weeks.

Make sure you cool and store it in the fridge as soon as possible.

To prolong its fridge life only reheat the amount you require, keeping the rest in the fridge.

Stewed rhubarb is freezer friendly hence perfect for batch cooking.

Once ready, make sure it's cooled completely, before portioning it into freezer safe containers and putting it the freezer where it will last for up to a year.

Defrost overnight in the fridge or (depending on the container you froze it in) in a microwave.

If you can easily release it into the pan, you could also defrost/reheat it on the stove.

I mainly use stewed rhubarb as a topping for my porridge or to have with granola and yogurt in the morning so I usually freeze it in these small, freezer safe containers which are perfect for my needs.

If you'd rather freeze smaller portions, you could use these cool, lidded ice cube trays. They will give you a better control of the amount you want to use as you simply defrost as many or as few cubes of stewed rhubarb as you need. No waste here!

For me it's all about breakfast! I tend to have it warm as a topping and sweetener for my porridge or cold with yogurt and homemade granola.

Alternatively, you can enjoy it either warm or cold with my strawberry overnight oats.

It doesn't stop at at breakfast though, oh no. You can use it to create some simple and delicious desserts too:

1. Continuing with breakfast theme, why not serve it as a topping for pancakes? Try my delicious Vegan Buckwheat Pancakes, Fluffy Vegan Buttermilk Pancakes or perhaps traditional & classic Vegan Crepes or their non-vegan counterpart English pancakes!

2. Serve it simply with ice cream of choice! I love it with plain version of my homemade banana nice cream.

3. Rhubarb & Custard anyone?

4. Delicious Rhubarb Fool. I use thick Alpro Greek Style Vanilla yogurt for my plant based version instead of whipped cream and it's soo good!

5. Eton Mess rhubarb style! I use vegan meringues and thick plant based, greek style yogurt again with a drizzle of maple syrup - yum!