Rhubarb Garlic Quick Bread
I've been working on this recipe for a couple of days. This goes very nicely with soups, stews, etc. Admittedly, it isn't perfected, but I think it's worth sharing so here goes:
Rhubarb Garlic Quick Bread
6 ¾ ounces all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup rhubarb puree
Remove and discard leaves from rhubarb, wash the stems thoroughly and cut into half inch lengths. Drop 2 cups of rhubarb pieces into boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until quite tender. Remove from heat, drain, cool slightly, then puree in food processor. Cool pureed mixture completely.
Grease and flour one 8 x 4 inch pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
In bowl of stand mixer, combine flour, garlic powder, cumin, salt, baking powder, and soda.
In medium bowl of measuring cup, combine eggs, oil, and rhubarb, stir to mix and add to flour mixture in stand mixer bowl.
Mix with paddle attachment at medium/low speed just until all ingredients are combined and dry ingredients are hydrated (two to three minutes) and a smooth batter develops.
Pour into small lightly greased loaf pan (approx. 4x8x3 inches)
Bake for 30 - 40 minutes (more or less depending on your oven) or until internal temperature reaches 205 degrees or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Invert pan to remove bread to cooling rack and cool one hour before slicing and serving.
Rhubarb and garlic, eh? Plus a little cumin? Is the rhubarb flavor discernible in the finished bread? Or does it contribute a measure of tartness, as might some lemon peel?
Gotta hand it to you for creativity. Those are some flavors that I would never have thought to combine. Then again, I like rhubarb so much that I don't usually want to combine other flavors with it, other than some vanilla ice cream. Guess I'll need to buy one or two crowns and plant them in my garden this Fall.
Paul
The rhubarb puree makes this bread incredibly moist and delicate but, I must admit, the spices tend to push the rhubarb flavor to the background and it is not readily discernible. I was looking for a way to use rhubarb in something besides sweet desserts (cobblers, pies, etc.) and a sub-goal was to eliminate the sugar that typically accompanies rhubarb recipes. The natural sour taste of rhubarb necessitates sugar in dessert recipes and I haven't found very many savory recipes that include rhubarb as an ingredient.
So I decided to try the quick bread route and, as you can see, this is as far as I've taken it. I'm looking at ways to lower the amount of oil in this one and still maintain the texture/crumb that I've developed thus far. But I sliced off a hunk of this for lunch today and made a sandwich (a wide cut that I sliced horizontally to increase exposed crust area and facilitate "loading" the filling) with slices of london broil, then heated it in a skillet (I don't have a panini grill) just enough to get a light toasty color to it.
OMG; they charge big bucks for a sandwich like that in some bistros.
Definitely one of my favorite plants. I have 4 or so at the moment against my garage, but they aren't getting enough sun to really grow well so I'm moving them in August or early September.
'cause it's rhubarb season! :)