Think outside the pie box with Washington rhubarb

Is that you, Barb? Oh, no sorry, rhubarb.

Ruby red and oh so mysterious, rhubarb is the vegetable (or fruit, depending on who you ask) that’s either a longtime friend or a complete stranger. Its vibrant hue and celery-like appearance often leave people unsure of how exactly to eat it. Raw it’s quite sour, but with proper preparation, its profile can range from tart to earthy and sweet, a versatility that can bring pops of color and craft to your own cooking. 

Washington produces the largest commercial crop of rhubarb in the country and spring is when it hits local farmers market stands and dinner menus. Pat Donahue, executive chef of Anthony’s Restaurants, shared how he incorporates rhubarb into seasonal dishes that bring customers back again and again, plus tips on how to approach it at home.

Dessert might be the first thing that comes to mind with rhubarb, but save that for later.

Instead, imagine another springtime delight — fresh-caught, first-of-the-season halibut grilled over alder planks. “It’s a clean tasting, firm yet flaky whitefish,” Donahue said. “We will buy halibut out of Alaska, Canada, and off the Washington coast, depending on what areas are open. It’s a flatfish and they get huge, up to 150 pounds, but we buy the ones that are 20 to 40 pounds because they make nicer fillets.”

From there, it’s all about the secret sauce, or in this case, a coulis. 

“You chop up your rhubarb, throw it in a pan, sprinkle a little bit of sugar, and cover it with red wine. It could be a nice merlot,” he said. “You reduce that down for about five, ten minutes until it starts getting kind of thick and then you just throw it in your blender. I'll stir in a little bit of butter to smooth it out at the end. Add salt and pepper and that’s it.”

Put together on a bed of rice with some tender Middleton Farms green asparagus on the side (another sure sign of spring), it makes for quite a memorable meal. “I'd even dip my steak in the coulis, but we don't do that at the restaurants,” Donahue added.

At Anthony’s, you can also find a strawberry rhubarb relish — a satisfying and timely combination, thanks to their concurrent harvests — in the charred salmon salad, topped with hazelnuts on a bed of field greens.

That leaves the best for last: the rhubarb slump. Contrary to its name, when this pastry arrives at the table, things are actually going very well. “It's like a cobbler with a softer dough and a crispy golden crust, which is made of flour, sugar, and whipped cream,” he said. “We serve that with vanilla ice cream and sell a ton of it. And at home, my family loves it too. They crave it every spring.”