Roasted vanilla
rhubarb with
hazelnut cream
I love cooking with bright fruit.
Roasting rhubarb rather than
poaching it keeps that big bold
pink colour. Don’t skip on
making the thick, silky cream.
It’s really simple and brings
balance to the pudding.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 800g rhubarb, cut into 3cm
lengths - Good splash of PX sherry
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, halved
lengthways and seeds scraped
For the hazelnut cream
- 100g blanched hazelnuts
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 400ml double cream
01 For the cream, put half
the hazelnuts in a food
processor with the caster
sugar and whizz to a fine
crumb. Pour half the cream
into a pan, add the whizzed
nuts and sugar and bring
almost to the boil.
02 Remove from the heat
and stand until cool, then
transfer to the fridge to chill
for at least an hour. Toast
the remaining nuts, then
chop and set aside.
03 Heat the oven to 160C
(180C non-fan). Put the
rhubarb into a roasting tin and
add the PX sherry, sugar and
vanilla pod. Cover with foil
and roast for 20-25 min until
tender but still holding its
shape. Remove from the oven
and allow it to cool to room
temperature in its juices.
04 Once the cream is cold,
strain through a fine sieve into
a bowl, squeezing out as much
of the flavour from the nuts as
you can. Add the rest of the
cream, then whisk with a
balloon whisk until it is just
holding its shape.
05 Serve the room-
temperature rhubarb and
juices with dollops of the
hazelnut cream and a
scattering of toasted nuts n
The Sunday Times Magazine • 69