I love rhubarb. This is one of the first fruits that we can harvest in the garden.
Rhubarb, a perennial, is one of the easiest plants to grow in a northern garden, and it’s one of the earliest local vegetables (http://www.nubimagazine.com/rhubarb-unsung-food-hero/) .
However, it is more than this for me. It is a lot of good souvenirs with my grandmother Adele, when we were cooking together. Her rhubarb jam was amazing … bright pale yellow color, the small pieces of rhubarb cooked slowly in sugar and still intact, the jam running a little bit (French way to do jam), easy to spread on a piece of fresh French baguette covered with butter. Yummy!
And each year since I am a teenager, I am cooking with rhubarb, predominantly deserts like pie, crumble, marmalade and jam of course.
But do you know that rhubarb is not a fruit but a vegetable?
I found this quite intriguing and this year I have decided to experiment a new avenue: a savory dish with rhubarb.
Pork and rhubarb, a delicious combination for a stew. The tanginess of the rhubarb is balanced perfectly by the sweetness of the onions, and this combination works perfectly with pork.
I think it is time to cook. This is the recipe:
Recipe for 6 to 8 servings
Preparation: 15 min
Cooking: 1 hour and 15 min
Adapted from Cuisine de A a Z
Ingredients
1 kg to 1.2 kg pork tenderloin or pork loin roast
1.2 kg rhubarb
40 grams butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sweet onions (medium size)
I did this recipe two times. The first time, the sauce was really watery. The second time, I decided to use less liquid (50 ml) and I almost burnt my dish. Better to keep an eyes on it. You can add more liquid if necessary, and if your sauce is too watery, you can reduce it a little bit before to serve it.
100 ml water
You can replace water with beer or wine. The first time I did this recipe, I used an American Pale Ale beer from Black Oak Brewery. You can also use a Blanche de Chambly from Unibroue. A light but flavourful beer is perfect!
The second time I use a white wine. My suggestions: pinot grigio or chardonnay
Salt and pepper
Directions
Heat the butter/olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add the minced onion, liquid, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.
Add the minced rhubarb, mix well with the onions; cook over medium heat for an extra 40 minutes.
Cut the pork into slices, arrange on a warm platter, and spoon sauce over the sliced pork.
Serve with rice, roasted sweet potatoes and/or French green beans.
Bonne Appetite!
