I like January, not many people admit to that but there is a lot to like about it when you think about it.
Firstly both Christmas and New Year celebrations are over, no need to think about them again for at least 8 months (if you’re lucky), it is a time to regroup, think about the upcoming year and plan, but better than that one of my most favourite ingredients can be found, forced rhubarb, I love it!
It’s been available for a couple of weeks or so now but the best of it is not normally available till early January – Yorkshire Rhubarb – there is nothing finer. Grown in the dark and harvested by candlelight in sheds in what has become known as the Rhubarb Triangle around a small area of Wakefield, the long delicate pink stalks of this vegetable, for that is what it is, are just sublime, so different to outdoor rhubarb. Forced sounds cruel, and it would be if it were an animal, but it is in fact an age old tradition and most serious gardeners will have an old terracotta Rhubarb Pot for covering their rhubarb, denying it light thereby developing its long thin delicately pink sweet stalks.
The season starts in late December/early January and goes on till April although by then the quality does drop off quite considerably. Although slightly tart it is never as acidic as the outdoor variety and is much much sweeter and smoother, not only is it great in pies and crumbles but it also makes terrific sauces and the most wonderful sorbet of such a fantastic delicate yet vibrant pink, instead of the drab grey-green of its courser cousin. These days its uniqueness has waned thanks to the Dutch. Forced Rhubarb is now coming in from Holland as early as November but it will never have the same flavour as the home (Yorkshire triangle) grown variety.
I’ve been using it for years now featuring it in my first book A Feast of Fish, pairing it with Scallops, the two ingredients perfectly complimenting each other and giving the sauce a wonderful light pink hue, also see my recipe for Rhubarb Mousse with Toffee Foam in the recipe section of the web site.
I thought so highly of it that I also featured a Rhubarb Sorbet on my signature dessert in the I cooked at the Inn on the Park for the when I was awarded Chef Laureate of the British Academy of Gastronomes in 1987.
It works well with Mackerel, try very thinly slicing it, mixing it with shaved fennel then marinating it in a little white wine vinegar, salt and a pinch of sugar and serving it as a salad with grilled mackerel, as well as it does with lamb, add chunks of raw rhubarb to a Lamb stew or tagine just a few minutes before serving, allowing it to soften slightly to give a slightly sharp fruit hit. Try it with duck too instead of the ubiquitous orange or cherries. Replace the apple sauce on your pork with poached rhubarb, serve it with venison, even with your sausages. It will add an interesting zing to lots of desserts along with a fabulous splash of colour too. The resulting juice after lightly poaching it makes a great colourful jelly too, even the kids will love it. Be careful when you do cook it though as it very quickly overcooks and falls apart losing its texture, integrity and impact. By the way it makes a great gin too. Infuse some of these early stalks in gin for at least a week before drinking, it gives it a fabulous fresh pink hue as well as the soft sweet flavour of the rhubarb.
Did you know that 90% of the world’s forced rhubarb comes from the tiny patch of land in the Wakefield Triangle. The people of Wakefield are so proud of this heritage that they’ve got a permanent exhibition dedicated to it. So if you are in the area get yourself along to it. Rhubarb, like many things in life, come with a little warning though – do not eat the leaves, they are toxic. When buying rhubarb always look for bright firm stalks, do not purchase if the leaves or stalks are going brown.
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