Last of the Summer.......Rhubarb!

We are in the first days of October and the sun has been shining for the last week with temperatures equal to a good day in August.....yes we are in the throes of an Indian summer! and when the sun comes out our taste buds seem to change instinctively and crave lighter foods.

Wandering round the market a few days ago I spied what is probably the last of the seasons rhubarb, of course I had to buy it, it could be months before we see any fresh again!

There are things in life that are just meant to be together and rhubarb and ginger are two of them!
One can always enjoy rhubarb in a pie or a crumble or even some tasty jam, but my preferred method of enjoying this tart fruit that disguises itself as a vegetable, is as a deliciously spicy compote served alongside the sweetness of meringue and the obligatory fresh cream but with a ginger secret in the form of a 'dacquoise'. A dacquoise is the French term for what is layers of nutty meringue filled with whatever you fancy.

For my Indian summer dacquoise which feeds 8 you will need:

for the meringue:

4 egg whites at room temperature

150 g castor sugar

60 g ground almonds

1 teaspoon of almond extract

for the filling:

500 ml whipping cream

50 g castor sugar

150 g good quality ginger preserve

for the rhubarb compote:

500 g fresh rhubarb

100 g castor sugar

1 heaped teaspoon of all-spice

some fresh raspberries and icing sugar to serve

How to:

meringue:

• pre heat your oven to 160c
• cover a flat baking tray with greaseproof or parchment paper and oil very lightly with a non flavoured oil like sunflower or rapeseed
• place the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl, add 1 tablespoon of the sugar and the almond extract and whisk until firm peaks are formed
• mix the ground almonds with the remaining sugar and fold gently into the egg whites
• spoon the meringue mixture onto the paper and spread in two large evenly sized circles....if you can use a piping bag why not have a go at piping some individual sized ones, just make sure you have a top and bottom layer of meringue for each person!
• put the meringue rounds into the oven and turn the temperature down to 140c, bake the meringue for 1 hour
• remove from the oven and let them cool. when cool you can place the rounds in an airtight container or cover the tray tightly with cling-film until needed

rhubarb compote:

• trim and wash the rhubarb stalks, cut into 1 inch long pieces and place in an oven proof casserole dish or a roasting tin that you can cover with tin foil.
• mix the all spice with the castor sugar and scatter over the rhubarb pieces
• cover with a lid or tin foil and place in the oven at 150c, cook until tender and very soft, this may take 40 mins to 1 hour depending on the rhubarb, just check the rhubarb every 10 minutes after it has been in the oven for 40 minutes, until done
• when the rhubarb is really soft pour it into a bowl and give it a good stir around until the fruit breaks down and mixes with any juice that has seeped out, leave to cool then refrigerate until you need it.

cream filling:

• put the cream and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk until stiff
• mash the ginger preserve with a fork then fold into the whipped cream, check for sweetness

assembling your dish:

• place a little whipped cream at the centre of a cake stand or plate, set one l layer of the meringue on the cream......the cream stops the meringue sliding off!
• spread the meringue layer with the ginger cream then top with the next layer of meringue
• dust with some icing sugar and top with a few fresh raspberries
• serve the rhubarb compote on the side.....enjoy this last taste of summer!

If you enjoyed this dish I'd love to hear from you....or post a picture on any of my social media sites!