Rhubarb compote

Monday, May 19, 2008

I have a couple of rhubarb plants in my garden.  I never know quite what to do with the harvest.  Sure, I like a good strawberry rhubarb pie as much as the next person, but I always wish I knew what else to use it for.  Earlier this week there was a pork tenderloin staring at me from my fridge - after a little bit of research I discovered that rhubarb compote would make a good sauce for a nice fennel seed crusted tenderloin.  Sold!

Making fruit compote is super simple, no matter what fruit you use.  But making rhubarb compote is ridiculously easy: cut up about two pounds of rhubarb, combine it with a little over a cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of water, and bring it to a boil.  Stir until the sugar dissolves, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook it down for 20 minutes.  Give it a stir every now and then.  The rhubarb sort of falls apart and you’ve got yourself a nice compote.

It was tasty with the tenderloin (served with a nice side of sauted locally-grown Lacinato kale and garlic), but I’m also thinking I might try to make fruit leather with it in my new dehydrator.  I’m not sure how that will work, but it’s worth a try!  It also has me thinking that I could freeze some of it and use it to mix in with applesauce.  It can be spooned over ice cream or cake, too, or maybe even used as a cake filling.  I might even can a bit of it to have on hand later in the season.