Ravishingly Rhubarb

Creamy Rhubarb Salad with Sweet Poppy Seed and Basil

Incoming Patowmack Farm toque Christopher Edwards opted to meld his fantasy dining training—Edwards is a Johnson and Wales grad who’s cooked everywhere from McLean’s long-dormant Maestro to Spain’s fabled El Bulli—with his new farm-to-table mission for this dish. “The unique pairing of basil and rhubarb always makes me happy,” he says, adding, “The cream pulls everything together and provides a richness to what is normally a tart fruit.”

Christopher Edwards
Executive chef, Patowmack Farm

Photography by Hana Jung

PREP TIME: 15 min.
COOK TIME: 12 min.
SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water
3 stalks rhubarb
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
20 basil leaves

PREPARATION
Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a fast boil (3 minutes) in a sauce pot. Remove from heat.

Gently remove outer layer of rhubarb with a vegetable peeler. Cut rhubarb into thirds, lengthwise; thinly slice each segment again, lengthwise.

Whip heavy cream in a bowl until stiff.

Place strips of rhubarb in hot sugar water and let soften (2 to 3 minutes). Remove rhubarb from water; set strips aside to rest. Reserve sugar water.

Toss rhubarb strips with olive oil, poppy seeds and 1 teaspoon reserved sugar water.

Place a dollop of whipped cream onto center of four plates, then spoon 1/4 of dressed rhubarb onto whipped cream bed. Drizzle remaining juices all around the plate. Sprinkle each plate with basil.

(May 2009)

Tags: basil, poppy seed, recipe, rhubarb, salad