They say Spring has sprung and it is true that my tulips are up and my lilacs are blooming-but here in Colorado it is still snowing.
March was terrific and now it is April and though there have been a few good weekends, I am ready to feel May.
Rhubarb is a vegetable, in case you were wondering, and one I first had a taste of just a few years ago. Though my mother periodically stole our neighbor's rhubarb, I never remember eating it.
She stewed it-that I know-and maybe the thought of stew turned me off.
But as my mother might say, I've now become a grown up, and eating rhubarb is one of my more pleasant adult experiences.
After all, I recently discovered borscht and that was pretty good too!
Rhubarb can be made into wine or drunk as a cordial and even made into pickles, but generally I've found rhubarb in pies mixed with strawberries.
Rhubarb/strawberries is a pretty common blend.
Rhubarb has a tart, but likeable taste, and pairs well with berries of all kinds.
Last year I made some outstanding rhubarb bars, but this year after baking so much for Passover, I just wasn't in the mood for more.
Hence I decided to stew my rhubarb-shocker of shockers!
Stew though really does send off the wrong connotation, because rhubarb cooks very fast.
Don't leave it alone because by the time you've let the dogs out, your rhubarb could be stewed into mush. Just sayin'. I barely made it back in time.
I decided to cook this rhibarb recipe with a few other berries because I had some leftover from Passover and I also had some red wine that needed a home.
Yes, red wine works quite nicely, but you could use orange juice or water or pomegranate juice.
After the fruit was cooked I strained it and boiled the liquid down into a lovely rhubarb syrup. Manservant is already eyeing it for cocktails, which sounds pretty good to me.
Not knowing how Manservant would go for rhubarb compote plopped into a bowl, I decided to layer this into parfait glasses; because everything looks good in a parfait glass. Well, it does, doesn't it?
And Manservant ate it quite heartily and was quite happy to have spied two more in the fridge. Truth is this makes a pretty healthy dessert and one that would work well for breakfast, too.
Leave off the whipped cream if you must, but hey, one does put whipped cream on pancakes and waffles, do they not?
To gild the lily, I decided to buy some ready made shortbread cookies from the cookie box at Whole Foods. That cookie box spells danger in my book.
At our Whole Foods they had some blueberry short breads and some lemon lavender. Yeah-you know I bought both.
And then I gave them a little powdered sugar frosting mixed with some rhubarb bitters, that Manservant keeps on hand.
What a nice little bite to have with a gorgeous fruit parfait.
Last but not least I used my favorite Noosa yogurt flavor of strawberry rhubarb, to layer these between the rhubarb-strawberry mixture.
Frankly, Noosa yogurt could be dessert all by itself. Love this stuff!
Yes, rhubarb tastes great. And rhubarb pie is awsome. But this rhubarb dessert or fruit parfait for breakfast sure tastes mighty fine to me!
It also makes the house smell like spring, which we sure could use a little more of around here!
More to Try:
Rhubarb Black Pepper Shortbread Bars
Strawberry Spiral Biscuit Pie
Raspberry Crumble Tart
I'd Love it if You'd Follow Me and Pin and Share:
Recipe
Rhubarb Berry Red Wine Parfaits
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast/Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
This rhubarb, berry syrup makes the best yogurt parfaits! Or serve your gorgeous parfait for a healthy dessert!
Ingredients
2 lb rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces (Did you know that the color of the rhubarb does not affect the taste?)
1 lb strawberries, hulled and cut in half
6 oz raspberries
½ - ¾ c sugar
½ c red wine
¼ t cinnamon
1 star anise (optional)
1 container of Noosa yogurt (strawberry rhubarb or the honey would be great, too)
8 short bread cookies
½ c powdered sugar
8 drops of rhubarb bitters (optional)
2-3 T milk or pomegranate juice
Whipped Cream
Instructions
Heat rhubarb and berries with red wine, sugar, cinnamon and star anise and cook for about 10 minutes or until rhubarb is soft and berries have released their juices.
Separate fruit from juice and continue simmering juice until thickened and syrupy. I ended up with about a cup of syrup.
Combine powdered sugar, bitters and milk or juice and whisk until glaze has formed. Ice cookies. I sprinkled a some crushed dried strawberries on top, but you could use lavender or colorful sugar. Let dry on a rack.
To make parfaits:
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Place about 1-2 T of rhubarb syrup in bottom of glass. Top with 2 T of yogurt. Top that with 2-3 T of fruit. (You will have some leftover to top your pancakes with the next morning!) Top that with whipped cream and garnish with a spring of thyme. Serve with cookies.
Sippity Sup says
I can think of so many uses for rhubarb stewed this deliciously. And yes. let's keep it for the adults. GREG
Susan Christy says
Follow you on Pinterest - susitravl
Susan Christy says
Oh, I love rhubarb! My favorite is rhubarb cake with vanilla sauce.
Cheri Savory Spoon says
Hi Abbe, strawberry and rhubarb pie is my favorite. Just started following you on pinterest. These parfaits are beautiful, Take care!
No Spoon Necessary says
I hope it gets warm near you! It certainly has been warm enough in NC.. too bad I can't give you some of our weather! Anyways, I LOVE rhubarb and these parfaits look perfect! So pretty and packed with delicious flavors! Cheers and thanks for sharing the YUM!
Natasha Lamoreux says
I really like Rhubarb pie. To be honest it is the only recipe I have tried with rhubarb but I really enjoy the tart is has.
Natasha Lamoreux says
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mjskit says
My rhubarb is doing quite well this year, but unfortunately, it's year one so I can't pick it. Bummer! Time to start looking for some to buy because this parfait is the real deal. Love it and would love to have one sitting in front of me right now. So good!
Balvinder Ubi says
I have seen many rhubarb recipes this past week and each one was incredible. This parfait looks absolutely divine:) Pinned!
Rose-Marie says
I follow you on Pinterest (already)!
Rose-Marie says
I'm subscribed to your blog (already)!!
Rose-Marie says
Rhubarb!!! I do luv! I didn't think I like rhubarb that much, I had only had it in a watery sweet stew. Then a co-worker brought in a rhubarb cobbler made with honey. I took a tiny obligatory piece and tasted it. Wham! hit by cupid's arrow, after that, I had to have backyard rhubarb - my favorite is pie with a butter crust. And I never could get that recipe for the cobbler, but have experimented with my own. The rhubarb at Whole Foods is the only place I've seen it looking as good as backyard version!
Tricia Buice says
This is so pretty - and we love pink this time of year. Raspberries, strawberries and rhubarb! Yogurt is great with fruits and I love that you included wine - bonus! I like rhubarb and strawberry pie but love this too!
Lea Ann (Cooking on the Ranch) says
Your dessert looks beautiful Abbe. Can you believe I've never made any thing with rhubarb? This parfait may change that! I love our Colorado Spring snows, but this is too much, too many days. I'm so anxious to make a trip to Tagawa Gardens.
Liz Berg says
My mom had a huge patch of rhubarb in our back yard---I loved her pies and stewed rhubarb! Your parfaits look fabulous!!!
Kristen says
I follow on Twitter @rubylorikeet
Kristen says
I have never made anything with rhubarb, but my mom likes it a lot so I was thinking about trying a strawberry rhubarb crumble.
Angie Schneider says
Rhubarb and berry are an amazing team. Your parfaits look so beautiful and tempting!
Stephanie says
I susbcribe: steph 0828 at hotmail dot com
Stephanie says
Looks delicious - especially in the heat of the summer!
Kitchen Riffs says
Parfaits used to be huge when I was a kid. One of my mom's favorite company dishes. She'd have loved this -- she grew rhubarb, and was always doing nifty things with it. We should grow it too -- such good stuff. This is wonderful -- thanks.
karen says
I love rhubarb pie - sometimes with raspberries added in there.
traveler says
I would make rhubarb/applesauce. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
traveler says
I am an e-mail subscriber. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
La Table De Nana says
They look so good!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen says
Ha! I just finished commenting on your last post and your new post showed up in my email feed 🙂 My rhubarb is growing fast and furious and I'm always looking for new ways to use it. Your parfaits look parfait 🙂 and so delicious!
Holly @ abakershouse.com says
Your parfait glasses look beautiful with the rhubarb sparking inside. I wouldn't have thought to have added wine and love that idea. This would be a nice summer dessert for the 4th of July with a layer of blueberries added. I'll have to buy some parfait glasses before then.