Sarah McLachlan ~ Possession
Stone Temple Pilots ~ Plush
Shakira ~ Donde Estan Los Ladrones
Destiny's Child ~ Soldier
Ashanti ~ Only You
Truth Hurts ~ Addictive
This week we bought our first batch of Rhubarb and it looked so good with its deep redness and green colours. I know My Love silently hoped that it would be used in a crumble or a pie...and I was tempted. But I wanted to make something other than the two usual recipes we all make during the winter. I looked at making it into smoothies or other desserts like a Rhubarb Fool. Again tempting but I'm trying to make luxury desserts, cupcakes and cakes for special occasions only. And if I'm really honest I cannot stand stewed fruits of any kind...I know it's a 'healthy' dessert but I find them acidic and I would rather not bother at all. It's just my personal opinion folks...I know there are many lovers of this dessert..My Love included! lol.
In a moment of inspiration I thought back to the Plum Chutney I made to go with aubergine, tofu and rice. And I ended up doing a search for Rhubarb Chutney and found many recipes that were all lovely but loaded with ingredients I didn't want to use. Until I found this Ketchup recipe on kitchengarden.com. It had basic ingredients and sounded more like the kind of thing I was looking for. So I printed it off and this morning I made it.
To be honest I don't know what to make of it. All the way through cooking I kept wanting to add some liquid but after rechecking the online recipe (a couple of times lol) which confirmed no other liquid other than soy sauce..I carried on. It certainly didn't cook in the time given and my rhubarb took a long time until it started to soften. And at the end stage I was left with a pan of glup. I seriously wasn't feeling the Rhubarb Ketchup love. So I carried on with the recipe and left it to go cold then blitzed it until it was smooth. At which point it looked like baby food...lol. As you can see on the photo below. I taste tested it and was really shocked at how savoury it was. I should imagine if you are vegetarian, having this smeared on a sweet cheese sandwich it will be brilliant. And in my vegetarian days that is exactly what I would use it for. But in all honesty I am a little unsure how to use it now I've made it! lol. I would welcome ideas....or if you try it yourself please let me know how you used yours...
I will update this post when I have decided how to use it...~R~
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| Rhubarb Baby f....Oops sorry...lol Rhubarb Ketchup! |
(Recipe from kitchengarden.com)
4-5 sticks of rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
1 med onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce (Tamari is GF)
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
Tabasco sauce ~ to taste
Using a wide shallow pan, begin to brown the onion in the olive oil over a moderate heat.
After a minute or two add the garlic and ginger. Reduce the heat and keep the ingredients moving until softened.
Add the rhubarb, continue to stir. The rhubarb should begin to soften quite quickly. (Or not! lol)
When the rhubarb has softened, stir in the soy sauce and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Stir in the coriander and Tabasco. Continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
Remove from heat, allow to cool, then puree in a food processor.
If you'd like a thicker ketchup (I so did not need to do this! R) return to the pan and reduce, stirring constantly.
Cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge until required.
Good Luck folks! ~Red~
