Rhubarb, rhubarb

I'm feeling a bit peeved today, firstly foodgawker have ignored my submission of the Dandelion post. No comments, no feedback, no show. I'm disappointed and incensed in equal parts since I only submit odd posts there that I think will be more interesting than 'yetanothercupcake' recipe. Still it's their loss. No more free content from me. UPDATE: I just checked the site, they didn't like my photo. Well, see this finger, I don't like you either...

And then I hear via Thyme for Cooking that Google have come up with some fantastic new scheme that seems destined to make the independent food blogger even more alienated. I've resisted strongly every attempt to be coerced into affiliating with cooking themed content agglomerations with the intrinsic implication that I welcome the commercialisation associated with it, although I notice a certain site has included me anyway, and I don't much want to have to start conforming to Google's idea of a recipe post in order to have people find me. Google, if you're reading, stop this madness now.

Anyway, the other day when Rose asked if I knew any savoury things to do with rhubarb it started a train of thought which I now present.


Rhubarb Tzatziki

The concept is simple, instead of cucumber in the tzatziki use rhubarb. Sounds mad, works well.

For a small side dish enough for two;

1 big stick of rhubarb, trimmed and peeled
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt
100g good quality soy/dairy free yoghurt

It's easy to peel rhubarb, just slide the knife blade under the skin at one end of the stalk and holding the slice against the blade gently pull the skin away down the length. You'll need to take two or three pulls like this. Then cube the rhubarb flesh as you would for a cucumber tzatziki. I cut it into short batons and then across into cubes about few millimetres square. Small is better but don't become obsessive.

Sprinkle a little salt (about 1/2 tsp.) over the cubes and leave for a couple of hours to release the juices. Then drain. This removes some of the salt and stops the tzatziki from becoming watery.

Crush your garlic to a fine paste, how much you use is up to you, and mix it with the drained rhubarb. Add a good glug of a pleasant tasting olive oil and stir everything together then add the yoghurt and mix well. Cover tightly and leave to mellow in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours.

This is good, the texture is just right and there is no need to add extra wine vinegar or lemon juice because the rhubarb provides the sharpness.

However, I didn't stop there because the Indian sub-continent equivalent of island tzatziki is the Raita.

Simpler than the tzatziki, this time there's no need for anything other than a good handful of freshly chopped mint added to the rhubarb after preparation and draining. Mix in the yoghurt and it's ready to eat within half an hour. The sourness of the rhubarb really shines in this making a mint sauce to die for. It would be brilliant with poppadums or as side dish to rice and curry but it went pretty well with crinkle crisps too.


Rhubarb Raita