Rhubarb is a source of serious nostalgia for me. My mom always had a huge patch of it in our garden when we were young and she made a killer rhubarb crisp. Although I love her rhubarb crisp, I wanted to do something with it that didn’t involve so much sugar and that was more versatile — enter rhubarb compote.
Strangely, I miss wandering down to the garden in the humid Minnesota air and slapping the mosquitoes off my neck while cutting a few stalks of this perfectly tart vegetable (yep, vegetable). But buying it at the farmer’s market without the humidity or mosquitoes is an acceptable alternative.
Rhubarb is surprisingly nutritious — it’s packed with fiber, vitamin K, and vitamin C as well as minerals such as calcium and manganese. The recipe below is far lower in sugar than most rhubarb compotes, using the sweetness from the strawberries and oranges to help keep the amount of honey as low as possible. I recommend trying the compote during the cooking process and if it’s too tart, add another tablespoon or two of honey. As with all the recipes on this blog, I try to keep the added sugar content as low as possible.
This compote is fantastic stirred into plain yogurt with a little granola or as an accompaniment to a thin slice of brie. It’s also delicious as a topping to overnight oats, chia seed pudding, protein pancakes, or added to a smoothie.
- 3 large stalks rhubarb (be sure to discard the leaves, they're not edible)
- 2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries
- 2 oranges, zested and juiced
- ¼ cup honey
- Rinse and chop the rhubarb into 1-2" thick pieces and place into a large stock-pot.
- If using fresh strawberries, wash and cut the greens off the tops. Place the strawberries into the pot with the rhubarb.
- Remove most of the zest from the oranges, then juice them, taking care not to get any seeds into the juice. Place the zest and juice into the pot with the rhubarb and strawberries.
- Begin cooking over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. After 10-15 minutes the rhubarb will start to become liquid, at that time add the honey and reduce the heat to medium-low and cook an additional 30 minutes.