Rhubarb and custard

I’ve just come back from a trip to Italy, which was filled with wonderful food and meeting lovely people – I’ll write about it next time but for now I wanted to share some rhubarb & custard recipes that I’ve been trying out while this lovely ingredient is in season.

The combination of rhubarb & custard is very English – but as I’ve heard from some people here, it’s a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it thing. As I wrote last year, I too was a little sceptical about this vegetable at first and it took me a while to build up the courage to try it – but since then, there is no going back for me :) I love the tangy, clean flavour and of course, the gorgeous pink coloured juice when cooked.

Creme brulee with roast rhubarb

Makes 6-7 ramekins (about 7cm diameter)
For the roast rhubarb
300g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into about 1cm pieces
40g caster sugar

For the creme brulee
4 egg yolks
70g caster sugar
1 tablespoon of finely grated ginger
Finely grated zest of half a lime
450ml double cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
Light brown sugar (make it finer in a food processor)
 

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Place the rhubarb in a roasting tray (single layer) and toss well in the sugar. Roast for 15-20 minutes (until the fruit is soft). Cool and divide into ramekins.

Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, whisk until pale and add the grated ginger and lime zest. Place the cream and vanilla seeds (as well as the pod) in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave for about 10 minutes to infuse the flavour. Heat the cream again, take the pod out then slowly pour into the egg mixture, stirring all the time. Place the custard into the pan, set over a low heat and cook until the custard coats the back of a spoon, keep stirring! (it takes about 15-20 minutes) Cool the custard and sieve into a clean bowl. When the custard is cool, pour over the ramekins (with the fruit). Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

To serve, sieve the brown sugar thinly over the custard. Brown the sugar with a blowtorch (you can place under a hot grill if you don’t have one). Repeat this process 2-3 times to make the perfect crunch. The custard will be softer than ‘cooked’ creme brulee, so you need to work fast while you’re browning the sugar.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KEIKO OIKAWA