Roasted Rhubarb

When rhubarb’s in season, I’m all in. Tart, bright, and unapologetically spring - it’s one of my favourite fruits, even though (technically) it’s a vegetable. That said, off-season rhubarb? You can keep it. Too sweet, too skinny, and missing the magic.

Use rhubarb in season, roast it gently, and let it do the talking.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

450g rhubarb, trimmed
225g caster sugar (split: 150g for day 1, 75g for roasting)
1 tbsp cornflour (I sometimes use custard powder - adds a hint of vanilla)
Optional: zest + juice of 1 orange (blood orange if you can get it)

Method

Day 1 – Prep

Rinse the rhubarb under cold water. Cut off the leaf ends and trim the woody bits at the base. Chop into pieces about two fingers wide - not too thin, they need to hold their shape.

Place the rhubarb in a container and toss with 150g of the sugar. This draws out moisture, softens the fibres, and gives you a nice syrup to roast in. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or, if you’re tight on time, leave in a warm spot for a few hours - but fridge is best).

Day 2 – Roast

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Take your rhubarb out of the fridge. You’ll see a lot of lovely liquid has pooled at the bottom - that’s your roasting base. Tip everything (rhubarb + liquid) into a snug roasting dish. Arrange the rhubarb in rows so it cooks evenly.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining 75g sugar with the cornflour (or custard powder), and if using, the orange zest and juice. Sprinkle this mix evenly over the rhubarb.

Cover the dish with foil and roast for 20–25 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender but still holding its shape. No mush, please.

Let it cool to room temp on a wire rack. Serve lukewarm, ideally.

To Serve

Use the rhubarb in a rhubarb tart, spoon over yoghurt, or just eat with a fork straight from the tray. No judgment.

Keeps up to 4 days in the fridge - but let’s be honest, it probably won’t last that long.

Bon app!