Rhubarb Has Arrived

Rhubarb has arrived at my local green market and I couldn't be happier. It's long been one of my favorite flavors, tart and delicious, a true seasonal treat. I'll eat anything rhubarb-flavored-strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb over vanilla ice cream (which I just finished eating), rhubarb muffins-the list goes on and on. Put rhubarb in there and I'll eat it. The one drawback to rhubarb season is that I end up eating way more dessert than I normally do, and certainly more than my bathroom scale thinks I should. But how can I let any of that delicious rhubarb go to waste? I'm so painfully aware that it won't be around for long that I just keep digging in.

This year, I've found a solution. The other night I had dinner at the The Harrison, a restaurant where my friend Amanda is the chef, and it turned out to be an eye-opening rhubarb experience. Amanda served an appetizer of crispy skate fingers with rhubarb slaw and basil mayo that was fantastic. It was the first time I had ever eaten rhubarb in a savory dish and it was superb.

Normally rhubarb is cooked with sugar to balance out its tartness, but Amanda simply added thinly sliced raw rhubarb into her slaw. No sugar added. The tartness of the rhubarb provided the tanginess that is key in a good slaw, and it set of the flavor of the fish in a very appealing way. I couldn't wait to get some from the market and start enjoying its flavor without the added calories.

I've been tossing thin slivers of raw rhubarb into my dinner salads every night and its is fantastic. It adds the same note as dried cranberries or dried cherries but with an appealing crunch. Raw grated beet or slivered apple pairs very nicely with the rhubarb, as does sherry vinegar and olive oil.

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