This week's French Garden recipe

People who know me would tell you that it's hard to tell which I like more: gardening or cooking. I'd say it depends on which I'm doing at the moment. Anyway, French cooking and French gardening go hand in hand. For me, cooking is an on-going adventure. Join me here on my culinary explorations, where I share with you both my old favorites as well as new inspirations. It's my fondest wish that these recipes serve as a springboard for your own new creations.

05/31/2007
Rhubarb-strawberry-rose compote Compote rhubarbe-fraise à la rose)

Ingredients:

1 lb. garden rhubarb, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2-2/3 c. sugar, or more to taste
1 heaping pint garden strawberries
1 large or 2 medium very fragrant organic roses

Toss the rhubarb with the sugar and leave to macerate for 2 hours to overnight.  Refrigerate if you leave it for more than 6 hours.  Heat the mixture to a boil in a noncorrosive saucepan.  Reduce the heat and cook gently until the rhubarb just starts to fall apart.  Add the hulled strawberries, halving them if they are large.  Continue cooking 5 minutes.  Grasp the rose petals all together and tug gently to free them from their calyx.  Slice off the bottom 1/4" of the petals which sometimes tastes bitter.  Slice the remaining petals into ribbons and add to the rhubarb-strawberry compote.  Stir gently and simmer for one minute.  Serve as is or with a dollop of Greek yogurt, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice-cream.  Fantastic with French toast.

Note:  You can't imagine the magic that the flavor of rose petals adds to the already winning rhubarb-strawberry mix.  Simple but extraordinary.

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Try some of our past French garden recipes:

Appetizers and small dishes

Basics

Beef, pork, lamb, and veal