As soon as the spring forest is freed from snow cover, the first green sprouts, young shoots of rhubarb, begin to show. This is a real storehouse of useful vitamins needed during the period of spring vitamin deficiency. Which puts it in first place on the pedestal, in terms of the content of vitamins and microelements for our body, after a cold and nutritionally poor winter.
Only young shoots that have a greenish color with pink veins are suitable for consumption. Although young leaves are also great for eating as second courses, such as cabbage soup, cabbage rolls and green borscht. In this article I will tell you how you can prepare dishes from rhubarb.
Salad "Spicy"
Grated horseradish will add piquancy to this salad. In general, I think that in early spring it is useful to eat exactly those foods that speed up our blood with their sharpness and astringency. Let him wake up and begin to work better, burn all accumulated fat deposits and bring the skin and muscles into a pleasant tone.
Product composition:
- Young rhubarb sprouts – 0.1 kg;
- Beets – 0.2 kg;
- Fat sour cream – 0.1 kg;
- Grated horseradish – 1 tablespoon;
- Granulated sugar - a pinch;
- Salt - to taste.
What we do:
- We cook the beets first, since they take the longest to cook. Prepare it in any way convenient for you. Either bake in the oven or in the microwave. And I just boil it for about forty minutes in water. I cool, peel and cut into small squares.
- Wash the rhubarb stems in running water, peel them from the film and cut them into small cubes. About the same size as beets.
- Now you need to add salt and sugar.
- Then I mix the grated horseradish with rich sour cream and dress the salad.
- In general, it is horseradish that I love most of all, as a dressing for any salad, and, in most cases, a dish. For its spicy and unique taste.
It is better for the salad to brew and soak for at least ten minutes, and that’s it, the dish is ready to eat. Bon appetit!
RHUBURB AND CINNAMON PIE
Ingredients:
5 eggs 250 g flour 250 g sugar 10 rhubarb sticks powdered sugar cinnamon
Preparation:
Mix eggs, sugar and flour and beat into dough. Peel the rhubarb and cut into cubes. Grease the baking sheet. Place the rhubarb in the pan, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar and pour the dough on top. Place the pie in a preheated oven and bake at 150°C for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the finished, slightly cooled pie with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Spring salad with rhubarb, radish and egg
In addition to rhubarb, in early spring we are pleased with its taste and no less tasty radish. So I would like to propose combining these two products in a very healthy and no less tasty salad.
So, the ingredients for cooking:
- Young rhubarb sprouts – 0.1 kg;
- Radish – 0.1 kg;
- Green onion – 0.1 kg;
- Boiled eggs – 3 pieces;
- Fat sour cream – 0.15 grams;
- Salt - at your discretion;
- Granulated sugar - a pinch.
What we do:
- Vegetables, preferably first fresh, are washed under running water, peeled and stems removed.
- I cut the radishes into thin circles, and cut the rhubarb stalks into small strips. I mix it in a salad bowl. Add rock salt and granulated sugar to taste.
- Now it’s time to pour in the sour cream.
- Then finely chop the green onion, cut the eggs into quarters, carefully knead and serve.
- To make the salad more filling, I sometimes add finely chopped walnut kernels. And if you get hold of pine nuts, you can even serve it at the holiday table.
- There is only one benefit from such a salad. And its bright, spring taste of greenery whets your appetite even more. And it seems that it is impossible to stop eating this dish. Don't forget that you are preparing it for lunch, otherwise you will eat it before you have time to serve it.
Rhubarb salad “Easy as Easy”
This recipe allows you to use completely different products, which I am happy to list below. Try cooking and don’t be afraid to experiment, and you will definitely find your ideal option.
Required Products:
- Young shoots – 0.3 kg;
- Granulated sugar – 2 teaspoons;
- Vanilla sugar - a pinch.
Let's start:
- We wash young rhubarb shoots under running water and remove the film with a sharp knife. Cut into small pieces. Cover with granulated sugar and vanilla sugar.
Since the taste of rhubarb is vaguely reminiscent of fragrant apples, ground cinnamon is also great as a seasoning for rhubarb, but this is up to your taste.
Let the salad sit for ten minutes, during which time it should release juice. Stir and the food is ready.
And now the promised list of possible products in this recipe:
Young apples; Fresh carrots; Beet; A pineapple; Berries; Citrus; Tomatoes; Cucumbers.
- Radish; Boiled beans; Chicken eggs; Hard or soft cheese.
If you want something more satisfying, feel free to add any boiled and finely chopped meat. It's just that today we have vegetarian dishes, and because of this I did not include it in the general list.
Great for dressing: full-fat sour cream, vegetable oils or any homemade sauce.
Take the opportunity to eat this healthy plant. And your body will definitely thank you with its good work.
Rhubarb: general information
Rhubarb is a herb that botanists classify as a member of the buckwheat family. But even in official sources there are references to it as a vegetable. About 20 varieties are officially registered, but in nature there are many more of them, which is explained by a high tendency to hybridity. Vegetable and medicinal varieties are distinguished by the shape of the leaves: in the first case they have smooth edges, in the second they are lobed or cut out.
The plant is unpretentious, widespread in Eurasia and the American continent. It is actively cultivated in Britain and the USA. Scope of application: cooking, medicine, agriculture, landscape design.
The large leaves are similar to burdock; they are used to feed livestock and to make compost. The ripe fruit resembles a nut. From a medical point of view, the root is useful. The nutritional value is characteristic of rhubarb stems; it is from them that sweet and sour desserts and other delicacies are made. The buds are also used in cooking, but rarely, as a delicacy.
Collection time is the entire warm period, but with the following condition: the plant should not bloom, the buds are cut off in the state of a microscopic embryo. The correct answer to the questions about what kind of rhubarb to eat, when you can eat rhubarb: all year round (in winter in the form of candied fruits and jam). True, the taste of the stems varies depending on the season.
In early spring they are sweetish due to the content of malic acid; in mid-summer the sourness is more pronounced as the organic formula changes. Greenery lovers experiment with young leaves filled with juice from May to July. The roots are dug up in September. Their preparation involves several stages:
- washing;
- removal of thin “hairs” and damaged segments;
- cutting;
- drying.
Summer refreshing soup
This soup is good for its freshness and lightness. And the ease of preparation will please any housewife.
Required composition of products:
- Green rhubarb stems – 0.6 kg;
- Chicken eggs – 1 piece;
- White crackers – 0.15 grams;
- Fermented milk product – 250 grams;
- Granulated sugar – 0.1 kg;
- Drinking water – 1500 grams;
- Cinnamon - a pinch;
- Cloves – 2 pieces;
- Vanilla sugar - on the tip of a knife.
Let's start:
- Wash the green stems in ice-cold running water. We clean from the warbler. And cut into small pieces.
- We put a pan of water on the fire, throw cloves and ground cinnamon into it. And we also throw in granulated sugar.
- Place chopped rhubarb and bread crumbs in a saucepan. Cook for a maximum of two minutes, then remove from heat and beat the mixture with a mixer.
- Making the dressing sauce: Separate the white from the yolk in the egg. Beat the yolk with sour milk and, stirring thoroughly, pour the mixture into the puree soup.
- Now beat the white part of the egg into a strong foam, for this it is more convenient to use a mixer, add vanillin there.
In a separate portion, poured into plates, put a spoonful of whipped egg white.
- If you have fresh berries, feel free to decorate the finished dish with them, it will be both beautiful and as tasty as possible.
Rhubarb pie - tasty and healthy
Today there are different options for baking with such a useful plant as rhubarb. We offer a quick recipe for jellied pie with crispy shortcrust pastry and delicious filling.
Ingredients for the dough:
- 225 g flour;
- 225 g sweet sand;
- 0.5 spoon of ripper;
- one raw egg;
- 55 ml milk;
- 55 g margarine.
For filling:
- seven pods of fresh rhubarb;
- five spoons of granulated sugar.
For filling:
- one egg;
- 35 g fine sugar;
- a spoonful of flavored sugar;
- 85 ml sour cream;
- 18 g starch.
Cooking method:
- Peel the reddish skin from the rhubarb, chop it and mix with sweetener.
- For the dough, beat an egg into a container, pour in melted butter, beat with a fork and add flour with baking powder and sweet sand, knead the dough.
- Place the dough in the greased form, level it and make sides. Place the base in a cool place for 15 minutes until the dough thickens.
- Drain the extracted juice from the rhubarb into a separate container, beat the egg into the juice, add two types of sugar and add the fermented milk product, stir with a whisk.
- We take out the dough, pierce it with a fork over the entire area, sprinkle with starch and spread rhubarb, pour sour cream over it and put the pie in the oven for 30 minutes (temperature 180°C).
Beetroot soup "Spring"
I have described so many recipes about preparing okroshka with kvass, kefir, and the addition of mineral water. And this method also involves the use of young rhubarb. Let's add boiled beets there too - I'm sure it will be delicious.
Products according to the recipe:
- Young rhubarb – 0.35 kg;
- Beets – 0.3 kg;
- Carrots - 0.1 kg;
- Young cucumbers – 2 pieces;
- Leek – 0.1 kg;
- Dill – 0.1 kg;
- Boiled egg – 2 pieces;
- Granulated sugar - ½ tablespoon;
- Mustard sauce – 1 tablespoon;
- Kvass – 1 liter;
- Fat sour cream – 0.1 kg.
Let's start cooking:
- Peel the beets and carrots and cut them into small cubes. We dry them briefly and cool them.
- We clean, chop and dry the rhubarb shoots.
- Mix the chopped vegetables with bread kvass and cool in a cold place for at least thirty minutes.
- In the meantime, cut the young cucumbers into small cubes.
Do not be lazy to cut off the rough peel, otherwise they will ruin the finished dish.
- Chop the prepared greens as small as possible.
- Boil chicken eggs for at least ten minutes, cool, peel and cut into small cubes.
- When the kvass with vegetables has cooled, add cucumbers, herbs and eggs into it. Season with sour cream sauce, horseradish or mustard.
- Serve with black bread and young garlic. It's very tasty, I promise you will really like it.
Healthy rhubarb jelly without gelatin
Both children and adults will enjoy this sweet, gelatinous dish. To prepare it you need to take:
- 1 kg rhubarb (peeled petioles);
- 650 g sugar;
- 2-2.5 liters of water.
First, the petioles are sent to boil in water. When they are completely softened, add sugar. After it has dissolved, you can add spices to taste and place the rhubarb jelly in small vases or bowls. Alternatively, the treat is sent to jars. After covering the jelly with a layer of sugar, you can store it in a cool place.
Green soup with rhubarb and spinach
A light dietary soup will not only fill you up perfectly, but will also help you lose weight.
Products:
- Rhubarb leaves – 0.2 kg;
- Green spinach – 200 grams;
- Potatoes – 3 tubers;
- Carrot – 1 root;
- Onion – 1 head;
- Leek – 1 bunch;
- Various greens - 1 bunch;
- Wheat flour - 2 teaspoons;
- Chicken eggs – 2 pieces;
- Sour cream – 1 tablespoon;
- Sunflower oil – 3 tablespoons;
- Salt is at your discretion.
Let's start:
- Wash the potato tubers, peel them, and boil until tender.
- Also peel and grate the carrots. Cut the onion into small pieces.
- Boil and chop the eggs.
- Fry the onion, then add the carrots. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water and dry the vegetables. At the very end, add a little flour. Wash and chop the spinach and rhubarb leaves. Finely chop the leek as well.
Spinach can be replaced with sorrel or nettle.
- When the potatoes are cooked, add all the prepared products to it. Boil and turn off the gas.
- When you serve, put sour cream on a plate and you can start eating.
Sometimes I cook this soup with rich meat broth. It turns out very tasty.
The finished dish is served both hot and iced to taste.
Stuffed cabbage rolls made from rhubarb leaves
Stuffed cabbage rolls made from cabbage leaves, dogma prepared using grape leaves, and who has tried the same dish only from rhubarb leaves? It is very tasty, tender and incredibly juicy. Try it, and perhaps this recipe will firmly take its place on your spring table.
Any type of meat is suitable as a filling, but since today we are considering exclusively vegetarian dishes made from rhubarb, then accordingly we will use the filling without meat.
I take an approximate amount of products, by eye, as they say. Most often I use crumbly porridge, for example, made from millet or wheat.
- I boil the porridge, put in a little butter, finely chopped herbs and chopped boiled eggs. Mix well and add salt to taste.
- Pour boiling water over young rhubarb leaves, cool and wrap each in prepared porridge.
- Place tightly in a saucepan, add sour cream and bring to a boil. We do not simmer for long, fifteen minutes maximum. Before serving, garnish with a spoonful of sour cream and various herbs.
Cooking method
Chop the rhubarb coarsely, place it in a large saucepan, add sugar and water. Cook over low heat until the rhubarb releases juice. Then increase the heat slightly and simmer for another 10 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft. Cool.
The recipe further recommended the following: take a large bowl, wrap it in clean gauze and lay out the rhubarb, then hang the gauze over the bowl for a couple of hours so that the juice drips into it. I did it differently: first I placed the rhubarb in a large mesh sieve, then rubbed it through a fine mesh sieve again. In any case, you need to get juice (about 700 ml came out), without rhubarb fibers.
Add sugar and lemon juice, return to the heat and simmer for a while (without boiling), stirring until the sugar dissolves. ***If the rhubarb does not give a beautiful pink tint, you can tint it with a small amount of red syrup (for example, grenadine) or, as I did, lingonberry juice (1-2 tablespoons of berries). Yield ~800 ml.+-
15.Candied rhubarb
Wash the petioles of rhubarb leaves, drain, sort, cut crosswise into 1.5 cm pieces, removing individual fibrous threads, place them in an enamel basin and pour hot sugar syrup prepared at the rate of 1.2 kg of sugar and 300 ml of water. for 1 kg chopped and blanched rhubarb. Boil the candied fruits in three batches. The first cooking is carried out for 15 minutes at a low boil, after which the mixture must be removed from the heat and left for 10 hours. Carry out the second cooking in the same way and leave for 10 hours. During the third cooking, boil the candied fruit until tender, that is, until the syrup boils at 107.5-108 °C. Throw the boiled candied fruits onto a sieve or colander and leave for 1-1.5 hours, then place them in one row on a sieve and dry in the oven at a temperature of 35-40 ° C until a crust of small sugar crystals forms on the surface of the pieces. Sprinkle the dried candied fruits with fine sugar on all sides and dry them in the oven. Candied fruits can also be dried at room temperature. First, they need to be dried for 2 days, then rolled in sugar and dried for 2-3 days.
Place the finished candied fruits in clean jars, seal them hermetically with boiled lids and store in this form until use.
| Products (for 2 servings) | ||
| rhubarb | 1 | kg |
| sugar | 1.2 | kg |
| water | 300 | ml |
Rhubarb and beetroot caviar
A very unusual and appetizing snack. It can be served as sandwiches, spread on bread or a loaf, or you can simply eat it with spoons, as it is very tasty.
What products you will need:
- Young rhubarb - 100 grams;
- Beets - 0.2 kg;
- Butter - 0.03 kg;
- Sour cream - 1 tablespoon;
- Spices - to taste.
Let's start cooking:
- We bring the beets to readiness in any way convenient for you. We clean and grind using a meat grinder and the largest nozzle.
- We also wash the rhubarb stems, peel them from the film, cut them into cubes and grind them using a meat grinder.
- Mix everything in a container convenient for you, add butter, full-fat sour cream, table salt and granulated sugar.
- Turn on the smallest fire on the stove, place the container with food on it and dry for about fifteen minutes. Do not leave the stove and stir without stopping.
Then cool the caviar and serve.
Sometimes I also add boiled carrots to the dish; it makes the caviar slightly sweeter. Which is also very tasty.
Useful tips for using rhubarb
Well, I would like to briefly summarize and recall some of the nuances in preparing young rhubarb to get the best result.
Young petioles lose their freshness very quickly. To avoid this, dip them in slightly acidified water. This will significantly prolong the freshness of the product. And the vitamins in them will last longer.
- This solution will also remove the not very pleasant pharmaceutical aftertaste in the plant.
- Rhubarb compote goes well with citrus fruits, ground cinnamon and vanilla sugar.
- And with the help of pieces of the plant you can remove dark spots on your hands, thanks to its acid. Just rub your hands with it.
- Rhubarb is a very useful plant due to the content of vitamins and microelements in it, for people of completely different ages, in early spring.
- This article provides completely different recipes for healthy salads, soups, cabbage rolls, okroshka, and so on.
I hope I was able to answer your question about preparing dishes from young rhubarb. And you will be happy to cook it.
And if you have your own cooking methods, write in the comments, and I will be happy to try to prepare your version and will definitely write what I did.
Until we meet again, my friends, cook for yourself and your loved ones. And let your rhubarb dishes be tasty and no less healthy.
