Rhubarb - I'm in a Jam

On record for Thursday, May 15, 2008: The day dawned cold, and cold it stayed. The cold was followed by and was preceded with wind. The wind chilled the coldness to a bite I felt on my exposed ears. And I examined rhubarb, and green garlic, and purple-tipped asparagus with the cold resting its freckled hands on my ears as it tried to keep me from listening to vendors’ explanations on various spring produce. Green garlic – use it up to the tips; rhubarb – red and green parts can be used, discard the “prongs.”

Discard the prongs is exactly what I did as I chopped the three precious stalks I purchased. By golly, at $3 a bunch, and only 3 stalks to a bunch, I’m going to use every bit of the rhubarb that is edible. I found a recipe for Rhubarb Cobbler that calls for boiling the chopped rhubarb in sugar syrup thickened with corn starch. Simple enough – I knew that rhubarb is excruciatingly tart without the help of sugar, so infuse as much sugar into the pieces as possible, right? Well, yes and no. When I added the rhubarb to the sugar syrup and simmered it for the 10 minutes the recipe suggested, the result was more of a jam rather than softened pieces of rhubarb.

Naturally, as I prepared my sweet biscuit topping, I fretted about the texture of the overall dessert. Beyond mushy fruit, would a biscuit-topped jam even pass as dessert in the eyes of my sweet-toothed-gourmet husband?

As for me, the cinnamon-spiked tartness of the rhubarb made me reminisce about the taste of my sister’s homemade Dutch Apple Pie, worthy of a blue ribbon in any county fair. The layers of apples, tender yet still with a slight bite and whiffs of spices and savory butter, what a pie. “I used Butter Flavored Crisco,” Aimee confessed. I did not care, nor do I care now; apples are fall's favorite fruit. What I care about is creating a springtime pie with the same spices, texture, and memory; my first stab at springtime's quintessential dessert.

Oh my goodness, so I didn’t quite achieve the slightly crisp tender texture I so badly craved, but the tartness lending to spiciness was spot-on. A sweet biscuit soaking up the juices, a dollop of sour cream (that’s American for crème fraîche), and a cup of coffee rounded out my surprise hit – Rhubarb Jam Cobbler. Shane even said I could use less biscuit topping to allow the rhubarb to shine.

Perhaps next time I will try a different method, one that leaves the rhubarb pieces whole for a full-textured experience. However, I can guarantee I have one country boy at home who does not mind finishing leftovers of last night’s attempt.

My attempt to recreate a tart, apple-esque cobbler using farmer's market rhubarb; I instead present Rhubarb Jam Cobbler:

Serves Eight (I halved this recipe and made four servings)

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Rhubarb Cobbler Filling:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups (about 6-8 stalks, depending on size) rhubarb, chopped
2 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste

Bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil over medium heat, stirring until thick and clear, and add the rhubarb and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Pour into a 9" pie dish, or 8 individual baking dishes. Set aside while assembling topping.

Sweet Biscuit Topping:

Scant 2/3 cup 2 % or whole milk
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a tightly closed jar, vigorously shake the milk and sour cream and set aside. Over a medium bowl, sift together all dry ingredients, including the sugar. Add the scraped vanilla bean and butter pieces. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in butter until small crumbs form. Add the milk mixture slowly, and gently stir with a fork until a soft dough forms and all crumbs are evenly but just moistened. Do not over-handle the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

Using an ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto the surface of the fruit. It will spread as it bakes. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the biscuit dough comes out clean. Cook on a rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream or crème fraîche.