Herbal Spotight: Rhubarb With My Rustic Rhubarb Clafoutis Recipe

We are deeply immersed in Rhubarb season right now & loving every moment of it! Sadly underappreciated by many, this under-rated garden gem is a favorite in our family. It is one of the most versatile things we grow, working equally well for savory dishes as for sweets & drinks. This week, I share one of my family's favorite ways to enjoy it with my Rustic Rhubarb Clafoutis recipe --

Cultivated as far back as 2,700 B.C, rhubarb was first brought to America in the early 1770s by Benjamin Franklin. It is a hardy, perennial vegetable filled with antioxidants, vitamins C & K, calcium, potassium, & a whole lot of fiber. Its tart-acidic flavor sweetens up considerably when cooked, & can be used in both savory dishes & desserts with great success. Two of my family’s favorite ways to enjoy it are in our Cherry Rhubarb Pork Loin & in a simple clafoutis dessert where I pair it with candied ginger. A clafoutis, for the uninitiated, is a simple, baked dessert from southern France that features fruit & a custard-like batter. Cherry is the classic, but we make them quite successfully with all different fruits. They are extremely easy to make & absolutely fabulous. They can be served warm or cold, often dusted with powdered sugar & occasionally served with whipped or ice cream. ​

Of the many types we like to make, the rhubarb is decidedly a house-favorite!    [I am certain to feature other versions of clafoutis in the future….]

This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen rhubarb-- in fact, we always cube some up & pop it in the freezer during rhubarb season so that we can enjoy this clafoutis once our plants are finished in the Fall & Winter as well. The candied-ginger is a lovely complement to the sweet-tart flavor of the rhubarb, as is the blend of vanilla/almond/lemon the Buttercup Baking Extract provides. Plain vanilla extract works well too if you do not have Buttercup on hand.

Rustic Rhubarb Clafoutis

Roughly 12 oz Rhubarb, chopped into bite sized pieces 
Roughly 1 oz Candied Ginger 
2 eggs 
½ c sugar + 2 TBS sugar [separated] 
5 oz milk ¾ c flour 
2 TBS us butter, melted 
1 ½ TBS Buttercup or vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a pie or square baking dish: Butter & dust with sugar. Rough-chop your cleaned rhubarb & your candied ginger. Place the pieces in the prepared pan, spacing them evenly. In a mixing bowl, beat ½ cup of sugar with the eggs. Add milk, mix well. Slowly add the flour [sifting if desired,] stirring to incorporate. Stir in the Buttercup [or vanilla] baking extract & the melted butter. Pour your batter over the fruit; redistribute the pieces of rhubarb & ginger so they are evenly distributed if necessary.

Bake until cooked through & a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle 1 TBS sugar on top & return to the oven for an additional 2 minutes. Your clafoutis will puff up beautifully as it cooks, but will settle as it is removed from the oven -- No worries though! It will still be delicious! Despite being crustless, slice it up like pie to serve.
​Serve it warm or cold, with vanilla ice cream if desired. Personally, I like to save a slice or two to eat cold the next morning with my tea!

Bake until cooked through & a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle 1 TBS sugar on top & return to the oven for an additional 2 minutes. Your clafoutis will puff up beautifully as it cooks, but will settle as it is removed from the oven -- No worries though! It will still be delicious! Despite being crustless, slice it up like pie to serve. Serve it warm or cold, with vanilla ice cream if desired. Personally, I like to save a slice or two to eat cold the next morning with my tea!

I hope you give this ridiculously easy recipe a try-- Clafoutis just may be your new, favorite thing! It is quick & easy to make, & I find it disappears just as fast! Truly one of the best ways to enjoy rhubarb, this recipe is just the thing to make if you find yourself with a bunch you're not sure what to do with! Do let me know if you give it a try & please share what you think! ​ ​Until next time --
​Take care & take time to #StopAndEatTheFlowers 

For more fun try my
​Rhubarb-Ginger Drinking Shrub Recipe

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