Poached Rhubarb

With the amount of rhubarb I go through each week I am so regretful that I didn't plant any in my veggie patch. We are still in peak season in Sydney, so it is plentiful and fairly cheap. For my sister's brunch a couple of weeks back I poached some rhubarb to go with the granola and yogurt. It was very easy and looked great on the table. There was a fair amount left over, however, and I became slightly addicted to it. I ate so much that my teeth got that gritty feeling which is caused by the small amount of the toxin present in the stalks, mainly found in the leaves (why you shouldn't eat them). It was especially delicious with a blob of homemade yogurt, and I suspect would be equally so with some vanilla ice cream. 

Poached Rhubarb:

Ingredients: 

Two bunches rhubarb - 750g, chopped into two cm lengths 

150 unrefined cane sugar

2 tblsp water, if necessary

Method:

Place the rhubarb and sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Leave for an hour for the sugar to extract the moisture in the rhubarb. Cook on a very low heat, stirring every so often, for 30-45 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and disintegrating. Add the water if the rhubarb is too dry. Allow to cool. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Recipe adapted from Gourmet Traveller, June.