Rhubarb

“I’m not much of a cook,” Michèle Weil told me as she ushered me into her charming kitchen in a residential section of Strasbourg. Fresh basil was growing on her kitchen windowsill, and paintings from the Jewish School of Paris adorned the walls. “But,” she continued, “I have to cook. All French women cook.” A full-time pediatrician and the mother of three boys, Michèle is smart enough to know she can’t do it all. On medical call before we arrived for dinner, she quickly pulled from the freezer a package of hunks of frozen salmon and cod, bought at Picard Surgelés. Then she boiled some potatoes, put the fish in the oven, and opened a carton of prepared Hollandaise sauce, which she microwaved and poured over the baked fish. Putting this together with a green salad with tomatoes and her homemade vinaigrette, she had made a quick and balanced dinner. Like all working women, Michèle has to make compromises. “My mother would never have given you frozen food,” she apologized. “But, no matter how busy I am, I would never buy desserts. I always make them,” she told me as she presented a free-form rhubarb tart that she had made before going to work. It seemed that every Jewish cook I visited in Alsace served me rhubarb, the sour-tasting sign of spring. Unlike Americans, who almost always marry tart rhubarb with strawberries and lace the two with large quantities of sugar, French cooks make a less sweet tart using only rhubarb. They peel the stalks first, which I do not. I think it might be one of those French fetishes, like always serving radishes with butter, or tomato juice with celery salt. Alsatian home cooks also serve their tart with a delicious custard topping made from cream and eggs.

Serve this Persian sauce, which has an unusual tart flavor, with plain rice steamed in the Persian manner (page 338) or the quick and easy boiled and steamed rice (page 339).

The very first recipe I tested for Gourmet magazine was a rhubarb fool. It was a rather complicated affair that required a sugar syrup—of which you used only half—gelatin, whipped cream, and a whipped egg white. Fools don't need to be so involved; they're an old British dessert that basically consists of a fruit puree folded into whipped cream. The recipe below will show you just how delicious four simple ingredients simply united can be. Ready for more rhubarb? Get my tips for how to pick the perfect stalk and learn how this vegetable gets its ruby red color, all on the Gourmet Live blog. Then tune in to the 04.20.11 issue of Gourmet Live to read about my first adventures with rhubarb. Download the Gourmet Live iPad app for free!

This strikingly colorful dessert pairs tart rhubarb with rich Greek-style yogurt. Use a light colored honey that won't dull the rhubarb's bright hue. If you are using regular yogurt, start this recipe the night before so that it can strain overnight.

The fool originated in England in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. It is a simple dessert that combines tart fruit with whipped cream. The British traditionally made this dessert with gooseberries, but in spring rhubarb is the perfect choice, with its bright, tart flavor. A very simple dessert to prepare (we wince to say any fool can make it), this recipe calls for cooking a compote and then folding in whipped cream. It is elegant served with a shortbread cookie, which adds a delicious crispy element. To really doll it up, add a Candied Rhubarb Strip.

Thanks to frozen puff pastry, you can put a stunning dessert on the table in no time. A sweet citrus glaze offsets the rhubarb's tartness, as does a scoop of ice cream.

Rhubarb and strawberries usually meet in late-spring pies. This dessert plays on the combination's sophistication. When roasted, rhubarb becomes more intense in flavor and color while still retaining its shape. Rose water contributes a floral delicacy (use it sparingly; a little goes a long way), and strawberry sorbet imparts a cool note.

This no-hassle mix-and-bake dessert is like the old-fashioned cake Grandma always had ready after dinner, even though you never saw her working on it.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School, by Darina Allen. My brother, Rory O'Connell, introduced me to this fantastic combination, which then fired my imagination, and many experiments have followed. We have been having fun ringing the changes with this recipe. Bread and Butter Pudding is also delicious with apple and cinnamon or even mixed spices. I can't wait to try gooseberry and elderflower as soon as they come back into season. Don't cut down on the cream in this recipe and don't use too much bread.

A semifreddo is a frozen, molded mousse. Here, we combine it with a walnut-shortbread crust for a tart that celebrates the coming of spring fruit.

To call this bracing pink drink a rhubarb-infused ginger ale doesn't do it justice; it's much less syrupy-sweet and more cooling. The slightly tart flavor of rhubarb pairs well with lush picnic dishes.

Delicate and creamy, these tender individual desserts taste equally good served warm or at room temperature. A spoonful of your favorite jam can be used in place of the glazed rhubarb.

Tart rhubarb pairs with the sweetness of oranges to create a tangy sauce for roasted black sea bass. Cinnamon and ginger add a lovely background flavor.

A hearty, old-fashioned-style pie. Delicious with vanilla ice cream. A winner in the Bon Appétit Recipes Sweepstakes, a reader poll conducted in honor of our 50th anniversary.

Though we've divided this recipe into two sections, it really contains just four ingredients: rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup. (Adding a little corn syrup to a sorbet helps give it a velvety texture.)

Don't be tempted to use a dark dry Sherry for the syrup or topping — it will muddy the beautiful green-gold color of the cake and tint the cream topping brown.

The tangy flavor of seasonal rhubarb complements the taste of gin surprisingly well. You can double the quantities for a bigger batch.

This cake should not be assembled until just before serving.

The chutney also works well as an accompaniment to chicken, duck or lamb.

This variation on the classic Irish apple cake has a top and bottom crust made from a biscuit-like dough. You can cut this cake into wedges or dish it out with a spoon like a cobbler.