Rhubarb Rhubarb

I love it, the colour, the smell and above all the taste, Rhubarb. Its old school, its new school, it finds its way onto the best of menu's this time of year and also ends up on the dinner table at home. So it’s about time I gave you a simple recipe for the classic of all classics, Rhubarb and Custard, oh yeh..... This is the time of year to find the young shoots of rhubarb and the most important thing is not to add any water when cooking this delicious fruit, just let it stew in its own juices. You can add the zest of an orange as well it will give the rhubarb a little extra. Serves 6; 750g of young rhubarb Zest of two oranges 180g castor sugar For the custard 250ml milk 250ml of cream 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways 6 free range egg yolks 100g castor sugar Cut the rhubarb in 4cm lengths carefully. Put into a stainless steel pot over a very low heat, now add the orange zest and sprinkle the sugar over the whole lot. Put the lid on and stew for 15 minutes. Have a look now and then and give the pot a shake about; try not to stir as this will break up the rhubarb. It is cooked, simple as that, now for the custard.. Heat the milk and the cream with the vanilla pod in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk for a few seconds to get the vanilla seeds released into the liquid. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together and pour the hot milk and cream over this, whisking as you go. Return to the saucepan and cook over a very low heat stirring all the time until it thickens. That’s it now all you have to do is pour your custard over the rhubarb and enjoy..............