RHUBARB: Recipes for our tart, pretty and oh-so-Canadian ingredient

Rhubarb grows like a weed in northern gardens — a gorgeous red stalk with fruity, acidic flavour — to use in pies, crumbles and savoury stews.

Rhubarb and strawberry seasons happily overlap, local ingredients that work well together

By CINDA CHAVICH

One of my earliest memories is walking through the vegetable patch, a chunk of red rhubarb in hand, and a bowl of sugar to dip the tart stalk as I crunched through it.

In Canada, and most northern climes on the planet, rhubarb grows like a weed — a big leafy perennial that is one of the first plants to emerge each year, and one that seems to thrive on neglect. On the prairies where I grew up, you'll often still see the remains of an early homestead, the house long gone, but the line of shelter belt trees and the old rhubarb patch still standing.

Though rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) is actually a vegetable — related to the equally hardy and astringent sorrel plant — we mostly serve it as a fruit, sweetened with sugar and combined with the first spring strawberries in pies, crumbles, jams and other sweet stuff. Like tart cranberries, rhubarb is the perfect foil for sweet apples in desserts, too, and makes a moist, fruity and flavourful addition to muffins and coffee cakes.

Here in Canada, we even call rhubarb the "Pie Plant". It's combined with other fruits, used like lemons in a "meringue pie", added to custard pies or simply used to fill a pie on its own.

Rhubarb, a relative of sorrel, is a vegetable with red edible stalks and large, toxic leaves

But in other parts of the world where rhubarb thrives — it likes sun, well-drained soil and a cool climate so it's also found growing wild in China, Tibet, Siberia and Iran — you might find rhubarb added to a savoury lamb or beef stew, cooked into a tart chutney or orange-scented sauce to serve with pork, or boiled with water and strained to create a refreshing drink.

You might even add rhubarb to a spicy barbecue sauce or a homestyle ketchup recipe.

Like its cousin sorrel, rhubarb stands in for citrus as a flavouring in many recipes.

Just don't eat rhubarb leaves — they contain toxic levels of oxalic acid.

Rhubarb and strawberries, seasonal sisters, are often combined in pies, sauces and crumbles.

Rhubarb can be simmered, sauteed or roasted (which can help keep its shape) but the stalks quickly break down into a ruby red puree when cooked. This simple "stewed" rhubarb, sweetened to taste with sugar, is delicious over cake and ice cream, to mix into your breakfast yogurt or simply eat as an easy dessert. I like to make little breakfast parfaits in jars — layers of homemade granola with stewed rhubarb and vanilla yogurt — or individual rhubarb puddings, or larger trifles, with cubes of lemon pound cake and whipped cream and rhubarb sauce.

When you have a lot of excess rhubarb, the best thing to do is to freeze it. If you wash the stalks and cut them up into chunks, you can simply pack raw rhubarb into zippered bags in four-cup portions, to use in pies later. You don’t even need to add any sugar.

Or you can cook it down, with sugar to taste, and spices like cinnamon and ginger, and freeze the sauce to use for desserts, or pie fillings in the future.

A rhubarb plant in the back yard is beautiful thing — a local fruit that's cheap, cheerful and endlessly adaptable. It's a taste of Canada!

RECIPES

RHUBARB CUSTARD CRUMB PIE

If you have a rhubarb in the garden this is one of the easiest, old-fashioned pies to make. Pick up a graham crumb crust at the grocery store (or make one from scratch), whip up an easy egg and cream custard and bake this simple dessert. Good with a dollop of whipped cream or lemon yogurt, too.

1 pre-made graham cracker pie crust

¾ cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups chopped rhubarb

2 large eggs

2/3 cup whipping cream

Topping:

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine ¼ cup of the sugar with the rhubarb and set aside

Combine flour with remaining ½ cup of sugar and whisk in the eggs. Add the whipping cream and whisk to combine.

In another bowl, combine the topping ingredients and using a fork or your fingers, mixing to make a crumble.

Rhubarb is chopped, tossed with sugar and placed in the pie crust before adding the egg custard

Set the pie crust on a baking sheet. Pile the sugared rhubarb in the pie crust.

Pour the custard mixture evenly over top (it should just fill the crust).

Sprinkle bits of the crumble topping evenly over the pie.

Place pie (on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and continue to bake for about 40 minutes, until the pie is puffed and brown on the top.

It may still be a little jiggly in the middle – that’s fine.

Remove from the oven (it will fall) and cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator until cold before cutting. Serves 6-8.

After baking, the crumble forms a sweet crust on top of a layer of rhubarb and custard.

RHUBARB AND APPLE CRISP

We grew up calling apple crisp “Apple Betty” — the kind of everyday dessert that even a kid could whip together for supper. This adult version includes a little brandy and some fresh rhubarb (or substitute berries) to add color and zing, but it’s still a dead easy and delicious dessert to haul out for family gatherings or last-minute guests. Serves 6-8.

3⁄4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar

2 tbsp (30 mL) honey

1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon

1⁄4 tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg

3 tbsp (45 mL) brandy, Calvados or Grand Marnier

2 cups (500 mL) chopped rhubarb (or substitute saskatoon berries, blueberries or cranberries)

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour

TOPPING

1⁄4 cup (60 mL) whole wheat flour

3 tbsp (45 mL) butter, softened

1⁄2 cup (125 mL) brown sugar

1⁄2 cup (125 mL) rolled barley or

rolled oats

Pinch of salt

1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

Combine sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and brandy, Calvados or Grand Marnier and mix well. Toss with rhubarb and apples and marinate for 1 hour, until fruit releases its juices.

Add flour and combine well. Pour into a greased shallow baking dish.

Combine whole wheat flour with butter and brown sugar, mixing to form coarse crumbs. Stir in rolled barley or oats and season with salt and cinnamon. Scatter over fruit in dish.

Set baking dish on a baking sheet or pizza pan to catch any juice that may run over. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lemon yogurt.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB MERIGUE FOOL

Layers of crisp sweet meringues with tangy rhubarb sauce and creamy rhubarb mousse make a spectacular spring dessert. Make this trifle-style — in a glass bowl for the buffet — or layer the crumbled cookies, mousse, and sauce in small jars or tall champagne flutes for individual desserts. It’s super summery and very chic to dress up for a wedding or anniversary party, or serve as portable dessert at a backyard BBQ or picnic.

Stewed rhubarb breaks down into a saucy puree for breakfast parfaits or individual layered desserts.

Meringue

6 egg whites, at room temperature

½ tsp (2 mL) cream of tartar (or 1 tsp/5 mL white vinegar)

pinch of salt

1½ cups (375 mL) granulated sugar

1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

2 tsp (10 mL) finely grated orange zest (use a microplane grater)

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce:

1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar

2/3 cup(150 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice

5 cups (1.25 L) chopped red rhubarb

3 cups (750 mL) hulled and chopped strawberries

1 Tbsp (15 mL) finely grated orange zest

dash of pure vanilla extract

Mousse:

2 cups (500 mL) whipping cream

2 Tbsp (30 mL) granulated sugar

¼ cup (60 mL) orange liqueur

Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C).

To make the meringues, in a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt until they begin to stiffen. Gradually beat in the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Stir in the vanilla and zest.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon the meringues onto the sheet in mounds that are about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter (later, you can layer the meringues whole, or break them into pieces). Bake in the preheated oven for 1½ hours until dry but not brown. Turn off the oven, with the meringues still inside, and let them continue drying for another hour.

For the sauce, combine the sugar, orange juice, rhubarb, and strawberries in a large saucepan. Simmer slowly, over medium-low heat, for about 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. (The rhubarb will break down and thicken the sauce.) Stir in the orange rind and vanilla. Remove from the heat and cool. Purée 1 cup (250 mL) of the sauce in a blender and set aside. Cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce until ready to use.

To make the fool (a.k.a. mousse), beat the cream with the sugar, using an electric mixer, until thick. Add the liqueur and continue to beat until the mixture is stiff. Fold in the 1 cup (250 mL) of puréed rhubarb sauce (reserved from the previous step).

To assemble, spoon a layer of reserved fruit sauce in a large glass bowl or in individual stemmed glasses or small canning jars. Top with a layer of whole or broken meringues, then add a layer of mousse. Repeat these layers twice more and then top with crumbled meringues.

This dessert can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, or several days ahead and frozen. If frozen, let it soften for 30 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

RHUBARB STREUSEL MUFFINS

The sweet, nutty, streusel topping makes these muffins a little decadent — serve them for Sunday brunch on the deck when spring arrives.

1 1/4 cups (300 mL) each: all-purpose and whole-wheat flour

1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar

1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder

1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt

1/4 cup (50 mL) canola oil

1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract

1/4 cup (175 mL) buttermilk

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups (375 mL) finely chopped rhubarb

Streusel Topping:

2 tablespoons (25 mL) butter, softened

1/3 cup (75 mL) brown sugar

1 teaspoon (5 mL) ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped pecans

Combine flours and sugar in large bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Whisk together canola oil, vanilla, buttermilk, and egg, and slowly add to dry ingredients, mixing to form a stiff batter. Fold in chopped rhubarb.

Mix streusel topping ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Spoon batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins, filling them two-thirds full and sprinkling each with a little streusel topping.

Bake in a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven for 20–25 minutes.

Makes 12 large muffins.

TIP: No buttermilk? Sour regular milk with a splash of lemon juice and whisk, or substitute plain yogurt.

SASKATOON RHUBARB JAM OR SAUCE

Here's an old-fashioned prairie preserve, combing rhubarb with wild saskatoon berries (aka service berries) and a whole chopped orange for a kind of mixed fruit marmalade. Blueberries work well here, too, especially the wild ones!

Try it on breakfast toast or spooned over cheesecake or ice cream.

6 cups saskatoons

4 cups diced rhubarb

1 small orange

1/2 cup water

6 cups sugar

Crush saskatoons slightly with a potato masher (do not use a food processor).

Halve the orange, remove seeds and chop in food processor, peel and all.

Combine rhubarb and water in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes until rhubarb is soft. Stir in crushed saskatoons and bring to a boil.

Slowly add sugar to hot fruit, stirring to dissolve. Stir in the chopped orange.

Continue to boil for 10 minutes, or until mixture, when tested, is the desired consistency. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Makes 10 8-ounce jars.

TIP: To test, chill a small plate in the freezer. Put a teaspoon of hot jam on the cold plate to cool so you can see when the jam or sauce is a nice consistency.

©CindaChavich2025