By MEREDITH KIRTON

Spring almost tastes like rhubarb…that deliciously fresh flavour that’s sweet but overly, fresh but not too fruity. It’s springtime when this perennial vegetable really comes into its own. That’s right, although mostly eaten as a dessert the edible part of this plant is the stems, mean that it’s a vegetable you’re eating! And a word of warning, the leaves are poisonous, so no matter how delicious they look fresh from the garden, you have to throw them away. Green stems on the other hand are quite safe to eat, though not as spectacular. The colour can vary depending on the variety, but if you really want red stems, you can always cheat by adding some food colouring to a jug of water and sit cut stems in there till they soak up the extra colour!

To grow successfully, plant rhubarb crowns in late winter or early spring from either crowns, which you can buy from bulb suppliers, or seedlings. They will need to grow for a few years in their own bed with lots of extra manure dug through. Start picking your rhubarb from plants when they are about 3 years old, choosing outside stems first to allow the new growth to still sprout from the centre. Applying pressure downwards should be enough to snap them off cleanly without damage to your main plant. Remove flowering stems with a knife or secateurs, as these will take away energy from the others and are not edible in their own right.

Rhubarb can grow in the sun or semi shade, but they do like summer water and loads of food, so compost, manure or apply granular fertiliser regularly if you want to eat them often! They are beautiful garden specimens too, with handsome leaves and stunning stems. Their season can also be forced early by covering their crowns over winter with an upturned pot to force through early growth…or you can by beautiful terracotta forcing jars to do the same job more elegantly!

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By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Technically rhubarb is a vegetable. Only the stalks are edible. Field grown rhubarb as opposed to green house grown, tends to be juicier, more tart and less tender. When cooking rhubarb it is imperative to taste as it cooks to adjust sugar and cooking time accordingly.
Once picked, the stalks dry out and become limp quite quickly. Remove leaves, wash stalks and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

What to do with glut

• Freeze:

Once stewed, rhubarb can be frozen in plastic containers for up to 1 month.

• Preserve:

Rhubarb & ginger jam

Trim and chop 250g rhubarb. Place in a saucepan with 1 cup caster sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 4cm piece of peeled ginger. Stir on low heat, until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil rapidly for 8-10 mins, until thickened. Remove ginger and discard. Spoon into sterilized jars and seal. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Oven poached rhubarb

Trim and cut 250g rhubarb into 10cm lengths. Place in a small baking dish with finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 split vanilla bean and ¼ cup of caster sugar. Cover with foil and bake at 180C or 160C fan for 30 mins, until tender. Transfer rhubarb and juice to a sterilized container. Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 month. Use in a crumble, scones, cakes or on porridge.

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By MANDY SINCLAIR

Rhubarb tiramisu

1 bunch rhubarb, trimmed, washed,chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
250g mascarpone
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp Marsala
finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange
¾ cup cream ,whipped
12 savoiardi biscuits
grated chocolate, to serve

1. Cook rhubarb and brown sugar in a saucepan on low heat, covered, for 15 mins, until very soft. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until cold.
2. Mix together mascarpone, icing sugar, marsala and ornage rind until smooth. Fold through whipped cream.
3. Dip savoiardi biscuits in orange juice, two at a time. Break biscuits in half anf place 2 halves in the base of a serving glass. Top with 2 tbsp of mascarpone mixture, 2 tbsp rhubarb, 2 biscuit halves and 1 tbsp of mascarpone mixture. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 6. Top each with grated chocolate before serving.

Serves 6

tip ….
Assemble tiramisu ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving.

try this ….
The tartness of rhubarb goes beautifully with duck, venison and even offal. Pan fry duck breast or venison. While resting meat, cook finely chopped rhubarb in butter until just beginning to soften. Serve as an accompaniment.

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By MEREDITH KIRTON

Cabbages have to be one of the most versatile cold season vegetables.  They can be eaten raw, stir-fried, pickled, boiled and have been used in traditional cuisines right across Asia, Eastern and Northern Europe;  German food wouldn’t be the same without Sauerkraut and who can imagine a spring roll without cabbage!

Their tolerance to cold makes them an invaluable winter crop, and they are certainly one of the more beautiful looking vegetables with fine bone Wedgewood china made into its image as the popular Majolica setting. Few things are as perfect as a well grown Savoy or beautiful red cabbage.

To grow them in your garden, first lime the soil and dig in some blood and bone.  A month later, hopefully coinciding with late summer/early autumn rains, you are ready to plant out seedlings.  The cabbage will take about 5 months to grow into maturity, over which time you need to be vigilant watching for cabbage month and butterfly larvae.  These grubs are most active in the warm weather, and can eat quite a bit of your crop if let go unchecked.  Pick them off as soon as you see them and try not to be tempted to grow cabbages in the warm seasons when they are more likely to be around.  Many of the new varieties are also less likely to run to seed or be affected by diseases, and some of the smaller types, like ‘Sugarloaf’ are ready for harvest in only 3 months.

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By MANDY SINCLAIR

Storage:
Cabbages should be firm and heavy for their size. Tight leaf varieties, such as green and red cabbage, should be stored in a plastic bag and refrigerated for up to 1 week and are known to store better than loose leaf cabbages. Savoy, wombok and cavalo nero should have crisp firm leaves with no discolouration and should only be refrigerated for 2-3 days before use.

What to do with glut

The most successful way to preserve a glut of cabbage is to pickle it. This can be done using a vinegar based pickling solution or made into sauerkraut as in the recipe below.

• Preserve:

Sauerkraut

½ medium cabbage
1 tbsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp black peppercorns
¼ cup warm water

1. Remove any tough outer leaves from cabbage and finely shred. Spread cabbage onto bench top and sprinkle over salt. Using your hands, mix salt into cabbage, squeezing cabbage as you go to loosen and start releasing water.
2. Place one-third of the cabbage in a large saucepan, pressing down as you go. Top with a little garlic and a few peppercorns. Repeat layers twice more, pressing down firmly with your fist as you go. Pour over water. Cover the cabbage with a plate and top with another smaller pot or cans to weigh down.
3. Place the pot of cabbage in the pantry or leave on bench top for 5-7 days to pickle. Transfer to sterilized jars and refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes 4 cups

Note – the pickling process is most efficient at around 20C. Colder and it will take longer, warmer and the process will be reduced to about 3 days. Check daily, when the cabbage has softened and the bubbles have ceased the pickling process is complete.

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By MANDY SINCLAIR

Chilli pork rolls

PREP 20mins
COOK 20mins

1 tbsp peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 long red chillies, chopped
750g pork mince
1 bunch gai lan, trimmed, washed, chopped
4 green onions (shallots), chopped
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
8 savoy cabbage leaves, core trimmed
hoisin sauce, to serve

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium. Cook garlic, ginger and chilli for 2 mins, until fragrant. Increase heat to high. Add pork and cook for 5 mins, stirring, until brown.
2. Add gai lan and cook for 2 mins, until tender. Mix together soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and ¼ cup of water. Add to pork and cook for 5 mins, until sauce has reduced slightly.
3. Meanwhile, blanch cabbage leaves in a large saucepan of boiling water. Drain well. Spoon pork mixture into leaves and wrap to form a parcel. Serve with hoisin sauce.

Serves 4

tip ….
Try chicken or beef mince if you prefer.

try this ….
Stir fried cabbage
Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large frying pan or wok on high. Cook ½ shredded wombok for 3-4mins, until wilted. Add 3 sliced garlic cloves and cook for another 3-4mins, until tender. Stir through 1 cup coriander leaves and season well. Serve with grilled meat, sausages or on burgers.

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By MEREDITH KIRTON

Chicory, Radicchio and Endive, which are all members of the same family, are becoming more popular as Australian’s tastes mature and their ability to appreciate the bitterness of some greens in a salad as well as classics like the sweet flavoured mignonette lettuces and classic ‘Icebergs’.

What many people may not realise is that they come in many forms, like the myriad of lettuces, from speckled egg looking types, to the classic frilled endive, to deep magenta leaves.  Some grow with a heart, whilst others are upright with toothed margins.

They all have a unique flavour, and the bitterness can toned down by serving them with a blue cheese dressing or tossing them in butter.  The other way you can reduce their bitterness is by the way they are grown.  Like lettuces, the faster they are grown, with regular water and fertiliser, the less bitter they will become, but, the other thing that sets these apart is that the can be blanched to make them sweeter.

Blanching in the garden is different to the kitchen; so don’t toss boiling water onto your plants!!  In the garden, blanching refers to blocking out sunlight, which is either done by placing an upturned pot over your plants, covering them in straw or, in the case of witlof (white leaf, as it translates in Dutch), roots are dug up in late summer, planted in pots of damp sand, and the resulting white shoots that appear buried in the sand over winter can be used.  These are called ‘chicons’ and are delicious in salad with orange and a mustardy vinaigrette.

So, to grow your own, simply sow them as you would lettuce, any time of the year and enjoy your health giving bitter greens in 10 weeks.

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