1 Cut the rhubarb into 2cm chunks and put into a pan with the sugar and 500ml water. Split the vanilla pod, if using, scrape out the seeds and set these aside. Add the pod to the pan with the rhubarb. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool for half an hour or so.
Lucy Jones CORNISH FOOD BOX
This time of the year is for me when we look ahead to all the coming glories of the veg garden. My broad beans are in, the tomato seedlings are up in the seeds trays, and I am getting the beds prepared for planting. With the emergence of spring everywhere you look, the seasonal veg ready to harvest at this time can seem to be lagging behind in its winter profusion of roots and brassicas. There are however two very colourful seasonal favourites ready right now, the candy-pink stems of forced rhubarb and deep purple heads of sprouting broccoli.
Although technically a vegetable, I think its best to treat rhubarb as the first 'fruit' of the year and go puddings the whole way. Ok so you could make a sauce to go with mackerel but can that really compete with a sweet-sharpness of a rhubarb crumble served with icecream? Think Sunday lunch with the family and the finale coming
hot from the oven with the pink juice bubbling up in to the golden crumble and you get the picture. I'm a bit less proscriptive when it come to enjoying the delights of purple sprouting; steamed or stir fried, in a tart or tossed through pasta, I love it every way. Good job it is also packed full of nutritional stuff like vitamin c, fibre, and compounds that help prevent cancer. I never understand why this great seasonal vegetable is so often given a fancy name and sold in tiny amounts wrapped in plastic at inflated prices as if its a scarce thing. Here in Cornwall we grow lots of it (as long as the weather is on our side!) and at the Cornish Food Box Company we sell it by the tray load.
So at a time when what our food is, where its from, and
how much it is costing us is obsessing the nation lets enjoy the simple delights of eating what is really good and ready now. Order your food box, or go to your local farmers market or farm shop and you will get these seasonal treats at a reasonable price. That way you can also make sure our farmers get a fair price for what they produce so they are still around next year when you want some more. The Cornish Food Box Company is based in Truro and sells everything from veg, meat and fish, to jam, cheese and chocolate. For more information visit
www.thecornishfoodboxcompany.co.uk or call 01872 858343
2 Line a sieve with muslin and set this over a bowl. (Or use a jelly bag.) Pour the rhubarb and its juice into the sieve (or bag) and leave it to drip. Don’t force the juice through or you will make it cloudy. You want to end up with 350ml of pale, pink, clear juice. (Any excess can be added to the rhubarb pulp, chilled and stirred into yoghurt and/or muesli for breakfast.) If you don’t have quite enough juice, you’ll have to add a touch more Champagne to make up the difference. Shame. Put your 350ml juice in a small pan.
3 Soak the gelatine in a shallow bowl of cold water to soften for 5 minutes. Bring the rhubarb juice almost to a simmer and take off the heat. Squeeze the soaked gelatine leaves to
remove excess water, then add to the rhubarb juice and stir until fully melted. Pour into a large jug and leave to cool to room temperature.
4 Open your chilled Champagne and very, very slowly pour 500ml into the syrup – I tilt the jug and trickle the Champagne down the side. This painstaking step will maximise the number of bubbles held within your jelly. Stir the mixture as carefully as you can to make sure the rhubarb liquid and wine are completely combined. You will find a frothy head forms on top of the liquid – just skim it off with a spoon. Carefully pour the fizzy jelly into wine glasses, skim again if necessary and place in the fridge to set. This should take 2–3 hours.
5 When you are ready to serve, add the reserved vanilla seeds, if using, to the cream, and whip until it holds soft peaks. Put a little spoonful of this on top of the jellies and serve.
© Hugh’s Three Good Things, 2012. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
If Rhubarb doesn’t really get your taste buds going, perhaps you should add another versatile vegetable to your basket this season. First cultivated by the Romans, purple sprouting, or tenderstem as it is also known, is commonly thought to be young broccoli. It is actually a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Although broccoli has been grown in the UK since the 18th century, purple sprouting has only really been around for the past 30 years. Its long, deep-green stalks, finished off with the purple-tinged floret heads from which it gets its name, are easy to cook and complement a host of dishes. Often used in stir fries and oriental dishes, it can also be included in omelettes, quiches and fish pies. The long stalks are a perfect accompaniment to dips – a healthy alternative to bread sticks or crisps. It contains as much vitamin C as the same weight of oranges and heaps of folic acid, vitamin A and potassium, not to mention being a good source of iron, vitamin B6 and calcium. And if those aren’t enough reasons to give it a go, take a look at our suggestions and I am sure something will take your fancy.
40 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
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