Rhubarb Compote: the Summer's Multitool of Tasty

Well summer is here and with it is one of my favorite vegetables. I mean what other vegetable is used almost exclusively for dessert. Rhubarb seems to always get stuck with strawberries. I am always seeing strawberry rhubarb pies, jams. and compotes. Well I for one am tired of those strawberries muscling in on my tasty rhubarb. The solution is rhubarb compote!

If you have read my other instructables you may have noticed I am pretty keen on measurements. However the glory that is Rhubarb compote plays it fast, loose, and to your personal tastes just like your summer should. So grab your sense of adventure and lets go.

Edibles

• 3-5 stalks of Rhubarb
• 1 medium lemon
• Honey to taste
• Water

Tools

• Knife
• Cutting Board
• Pot
• Stove
• Spoon!
• A Sense of Adventure
• Lemon Juicing Device (this can be your hands)
  

Now that we have all the tools and ingredients we will need to make this delicious compote lets get started.

First wash off the Rhubarb stalks and cut any leafy bits off your stalks. I hear they were poisonous. Then chop your rhubarb up in to similar sized chunks. I usually do pieces about a half inch thick but really any size that is semi consistent so they cook at the same speed is all that is required.

Once the rhubarb is chopped up you might feel sad that the chopping is done. Never fear there is still a lemon to chop in half. Savor the moment as you chop your lemon in twain as this is last chop the recipe calls for.

Dump your precision chopped rhubarb into the pot. Then squeeze your lemon juice in. If you want you can now invest the time to remove the seeds but I never bother. As an optional step you can use the two leftover halves of your squeezed lemon in a nice glass of sun tea. Now add water.

How much water you ask? Well I am glad to see you actively participating in this instructable. The answer is slowly fill your pot with water and stop just before the rhubarb starts to float. If you have too much water don't worry you can just simmer it down.

Place you pot on the stove and bring to a rolling boil. Once you have achieved a rolling boil it is time to date yourself by saying "Simma down now" to no one in particular. Then turn the heat down on the rhubarb compote till it is at a simmer. Stir occasionally(like every few minutes). Once the Rhubarb starts breaking into stringy pieces you are almost done.( If you have added to much water and your compote is looking more like a soup than an applesauce thickens just let it simmer for a while longer.) Snag your spoon and sweeten to taste with honey. Make sure not to burn tongue.(For me this is usually about two heaping spoons of honey but I like it a bit tart.)

Now you might be thinking "This compote while tasty is looking like tan stringy goo." and if you were thinking that you would be right. For me the being tasty is good enough but if your compote must also be aesthetically pleasing I would recommend the following trick. Add a few raw purple beet slices at the beginning and once they have added their amazing beet color to the compote take them out.

So now we have a delicious compote. There are a whole bunch of ways you could enjoy your compote. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Hot compote over vanilla ice cream
• Cold compote with a swirl of vanilla cream
• The filling in a yogurt parfait
• With a spoon!

Thanks for taking the time to check out this instructable. I hope you are enjoying your summer.