Tag: quick

Quick Pickled Rhubarb

May 3, 2016February 11, 2017

A couple weeks ago, Jonah and I went to a Timbers game, and before the game started, it started to rain. It rained on and off for the whole game (which we lost) and when we left the stadium it was really pouring. We quickly decided to wait out the crowds and the downpour by ducking into a bar near the stadium called Shift Drinks. We got some tasty drinks and then decided to get a snack. I have a serious weakness for chicken liver pâté, so when I saw some on the menu, accompanied by pickled rhubarb, I knew I’d be ordering that.

Their pâté was creamy and sweet, and contrasted beautifully with the crunchy, sour rhubarb. I always love finding a new use for rhubarb, especially if it’s savory, so when I had that pickled rhubarb at Shift Drinks I knew I wanted to try making my own (and pairing it with my own chicken liver pâté, for which I use this recipe). This recipe is so ridiculously easy, and it makes a great snack either on it’s own or accompanying meats and cheeses on a homemade charcuterie board.

Quick Pickled Rhubarb

Ingredients

3 large stalks rhubarb
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
3 mint sprigs

Instructions

Slice the rhubarb into roughly half inch slices. Put the slices into a heat proof jar or bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the red wine vinegar, water, sugar, salt, fennel seeds, and mint. Bring to a simmer, remove the mint sprigs, and pour the liquid over the rhubarb. Cover and let stand overnight. In the morning, you’ve got quick pickled rhubarb!

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom

April 17, 2014February 10, 2017

It’s raining in Portland. I know, surprise, surprise. But it wasn’t that long ago that the sun was shining and I even got a sunburn. Seriously! Last weekend, Jonah’s mom and Grandma were in town for the day, and we took them to the PSU Farmer’s Market, which has got to be one of my favorite things about Portland. The sun was shining, I wasn’t even wearing a jacket, and there was beautiful crimson rhubarb everywhere! Rhubarb has got to be one of my favorite ingredients of all time, so I was excited, to say the least.

As I was getting ready for Passover dinner on Tuesday, I decided to nix the matzo crunch in favor of something a little more reminiscent of springtime: some baked rhubarb. After doing a little recipe hunting and finding this recipe on Food52 and this recipe on Orangette, I decided to do a little adapting. This recipe is so easy and delicious – I love the slightly sour flavor of the rhubarb and the hint of lemon, cardamom, and earl grey. I balanced the tartness with some fresh whipped cream, but ice cream, fresh ricotta, or yogurt are also great options.

Baked Rhubarb with Lemon and Cardamom

Ingredients

6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
1 meyer lemon, juiced
1/8 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup steeped and cooled earl grey tea

optional: fresh whipped cream, ice cream, fresh ricotta, or yogurt for serving

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a baking dish, combine rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, cardamom, and tea. Stir to combine. Bake for 15 minutes, stir, and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. You can serve the rhubarb warm, room temperature, or chilled, all are wonderful. Yes, that’s it. Can you believe how easy this is?

P.S. The leftovers, if there are any, taste delicious stirred into your yogurt and granola the next morning. Or on top of pancakes. Just saying.

Gingered Rhubarb Crisp

May 24, 2012February 2, 2017

You know what has started? Our neighborhood farmer’s market! I couldn’t be more excited. Jonah and I walked over for the first time and bought some sweet little carrots and some of the most beautiful rhubarb I had ever seen in my life. Seriously.

Now, for those who know me, you are award I have an obsession with rhubarb. If you don’t know me, well…now you know that much more. Strawberry rhubarb is my dad’s favorite kind of pie, and he and I spent one summer searching for the perfect recipe. We made probably a pie every other week. And we found what is, in my opinion, the best recipe. I still haven’t decided if I’m going to give you the filling recipe, but if I do it will be later. I’ve already given you the pie dough recipe.

This recipe, however, is one that my older sister discovered a few summers ago. It’s perfect for a) not having any strawberries, but having lots of rhubarb and b) wanting rhubarb dessert but not having enough time to make a pie. That shit’s time consuming. It’s so delicious: the ginger really brings out the tartness of the rhubarb, and I love the nuts in the topping. I halved the recipe because we all know what happens when there’s extra dessert lying around (hint: it ends up in my belly).

Gingered Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients

Rhubarb Filling

Vegetable oil spray or butter wrapper (see instructions)
3 pounds rhubarb, cut into ½-inch chunks
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Crumble Topping

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup old-fashioned oats
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup chopped walnuts
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or plain Greek yogurt for serving (I wish we’d had Greek yogurt… sounds so good).

Instructions

Rhubarb Filling

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray an 8- by 8-inch baking pan lightly with the vegetable oil spray and set aside. If you don’t have vegetable oil spray, take the wrapper from the butter you use in the recipe and just rub the pan with that. Jonah and I keep a stash of butter wrappers in our fridge for this exact reason.

Stir the rest of the filling ingredients (rhubarb, flour, sugar, and 1/2 tsp ground ginger) in a mixing bowl until the fruit is nicely coated with the flour. Spread the rhubarb evenly in the pan and bake it in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.

Crumble Topping

While the fruit is baking, make the crisp topping (you can use the same bowl you used for the fruit – I’m all for fewer dishes): Mix all the topping ingredients except the butter together in the bowl. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients, and mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are evenly moistened. With the melted butter. That’s right.

Take the pan of rhubarb out of the oven and spread the topping in an even layer over the fruit. It’s probably a good idea to put the pan on a baking sheet (maybe even lined with foil) to catch any drips. Or just do it in a bigger pan. That’s up to you I guess. Anyway, bake it for another 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, or Greek yogurt.

Korean Marinated Beef

February 29, 2012February 2, 2017

This Korean marinated beef was the second part of our asian dinner the other night. I found this recipe in our Gourmet Today cookbook, which is wonderful. This recipe was crazy good and super quick. The meat was nice and tender and perfectly cooked and the marinade caramelized nicely in the pan. You’re supposed to serve the beef in a lettuce cup with kimchi and rice, but we just served it over rice alongside the Japanese cucumber salad seen in the previous post. Here’s what you’ll need:

Korean Marinated Beef

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbl sugar
2 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 bunch of scallions, minced, with the white and green parts separated
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 Tbl minced peel fresh ginger
3 Tbl sesame seeds, toasted
1 lb flank steak (we did about 3/4 of a pound, just because the cut of meat is a little expensive and the recipe serves 4 people), cut across the grain into very thin slices (the recipe says no more than 1/8 inch thick, but I was like, hell no, so I just sliced it as thin as I could)
1 Tbl vegetable oil for cooking

Instructions

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, the whites of the scallions, the garlic, ginger, and 2 Tbl of the sesame seeds. Whisk this up until the sugar is dissolved. Now add the steak, toss it around to make sure it’s evenly coated, and let it marinate for 15 minutes.

After that 15 minute wait, heat the oil in a pan over high heat. You definitely want the oil to be shimmering, if not smoking. Now add the steak in one layer and cook (ours took 2 batches), turning halfway through. If your heat is high enough, it’ll only take about 4-5 minutes for your meat to be cooked through and even get a nice sear/caramelization from the marinade. When the meat is just cooked through – don’t cook it too long or it will lose some of it’s tenderness – transfer to a plate, sprinkle with the rest of the sesame seeds and the scallion greens. Serve with rice and Japanese cucumber salad (see previous post). Enjoy!