Rhubarb Orange Compote

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Vegetarian/Gluten-Free/Nut-Free

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: About 1 1/2 cups of compote

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board 

• Chef's knife 

• Medium saucepan

The Recipe:

• 2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, chopped

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

• Kosher salt, to taste

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, more or less to taste

Procedure:

1. Add the chopped rhubarb, sugar, Grand Mariner, and a pinch or two of Kosher salt to a medium saucepan.

2. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fruit is completely broken down, 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the butter, cardamom, and desired amount of orange zest (I use about 1/2 teaspoon and find the orange flavor to be very strong, so I wouldn't recommend using much more than that).

4. Taste, and adjust salt, orange zest, and cardamom to your liking. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

To Serve: We love serving this compote over vanilla ice cream, but I also think it would be really delicious on top of pork chops, pork tenderloin, or even as a topping on a pulled pork sandwich.

Adjusting for your diet: If you follow a vegan diet, you could easily omit the butter in this recipe and get a comparable result. The butter just adds a little richness and flavor.

Tips:

• If you are picking your own rhubarb, choose stalks that are firm, free of any blemishes, and who's leaves look mature. Thinner stalks that are more red than green tend to be sweeter, so opt for these over fat green stalks if you have the option. Throw away the large green leaves as they are not edible, trim away any of the root end that feels slimy, and rinse thoroughly before chopping.

• I think Grand Marnier has such a smooth and unique flavor that it works really well in this recipe; however some suitable alcoholic substitutes for the Grand Marnier would be Cointreau, an orange cognac liqueur, or simply an orange liqueur. If you want to leave the alcohol out all together, you could substitute orange juice, or even omit as you will get some good orange flavor from the orange zest.

• The orange zest could be omitted if you don't want as strong of an orange flavor.

• I would start with 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, taste, and decide if you want a little more or if it comes through enough for you. I only had cardamom seeds in the house, but I have a little pepper grinder I use to grind my own spices and this worked really well to grind up my cardamom seeds.

• When cooking this compote, you can stop cooking when it is your preferred consistency; the longer you cook it, the thicker it will become due to evaporation of the liquid.

• Adding butter to a compote is not necessarily traditional, so feel free to leave it out! I just love butter :)

The Story:

My rhubarb plant is already back and bigger than ever! I don't think I've ever been able to pick and use rhubarb so early in the season before. A special event like that calls for a special recipe!

Ladies and Gentleman, I have arrived.

I decided I wanted to come up with something that could be whipped up in a flash with ingredients I generally have on hand, for those oh-crap-we're-having-people-over-and-I-remembered-everything-except-dessert moments. I usually have vanilla ice cream in the freezer (or it can be procured from the gas station only a block away), so a compote seemed like the answer. A compote is just a fancy word for a sweet, chunky fruit sauce that often has other spices in it as well for added depth of flavor. I consulted my trusty Flavor Bible and decided Grand Marnier and cardamom would be welcome additions to my quick rhubarb orange compote.

This easy compote hits all the right notes: it's sweet with a hint of tartness, slightly complex, and sooo divine served warm or chilled over vanilla ice cream (my kids also like to add whipped cream). If you wanted to try making a riff on rhubarb pie and ice cream, you could add crumbled graham cracker crumbs or nilla wafers on top of your delicious little sundae as well. I can't wait to try it over pork chops next, because I think the flavors are going to pair together just beautifully!

Happy tasting!