[ Home ] [ Up ]

 by Ken Thorne, Ninnau Food Editor  

In the late Spring and early Summer, visions of beautiful Welsh family gardens and homegrown fruits and veggies come to mind. Even the smallest of row houses has a garden with almost every square inch planted. The vibrant lush greens of leaves and the brightly colored blossoms contrast with the glowing colors of ripening fruits and vegetables. One of the most vibrant and colorful of plants that stalk out is rhubarb. Growing up in Wales in the 1940s it was quite evident that rhubarb grew in everyone’s garden and often in the wild. My father used to say, “Rhubarb is a prolific spreader; a wonderful plant that grows easily, producing long bright red stalks with very large lush deep green leaves. Harvesting rhubarb is so easy.” Even today I vividly remember Mother’s freshly made delicious rhubarb dishes.

 Rhubarb has a long tradition of being part of the human psyche. It is thought to have originated in the Far East thousands of years ago where the root was used medicinally. Traded along the ancient Silk Road , it became favored in the Middle East . Later the Greeks and Romans would grow it for its tasty stalks which 2000 years ago were green and quite thin. With cultivation over the years it has evolved into the present form, a plant visually delightful with colors reminiscent of Cymric reds and greens. However, as beautiful as the leaves are they are inedible.

Cooked in its own juice or with very little water, rhubarb can be the basis of a multitude of dishes from pies and crumbles to stewed sauces, jams and even wines. You’ll find excellent rhubarb recipes in most Welsh cookbooks. Also, check your old family’s recipe box; it could contain some real winners!

My cousins, Dennis and Sylvia Thorne have a garden to envy. They live in a house perched above the Village of Harlech , North Wales with a backdrop of the Snowdonia National Park . Their secret for a productive Welsh garden even if soil is poor may surprise you. They are organic gardeners, now newly fashionable but it is as old as the hills. Yes, they compost horse droppings, a key component in making real black gold! What today may appear to be a scarce commodity may in reality be both plentiful and free as later described.    

   The Harlech Thornes have a stunning garden in Wales . Rainbow colors of blooming flowers array in every available spot partnering with a verdant lawn. Their veggie garden occupies a large drop-down terraced area in front of the lawn to maximize the sun while not interrupting their view. Even the greenhouse in the rear of the house is bountiful; heritage deep red, robust flavored tomatoes are visible through the glass. The living and dining room picture windows portray a magnificent scene: flower borders, glimpses of the tops of tall scarlet flowered pole runner beans in the terraced garden and the old stone rampart tops of the historic Harlech Castle . Lifting one’s eyes further you drink in the spectacularly beautiful seascape of Tremadog Bay with its background of one of my favorite places; the Lleyn Peninsula .

“By June,” Dennis and Sylvia say, “we start to harvest the fresh full flavored offerings of the garden. They are the makings for salads, veggies for the dinner plate or fruits for a whole variety of pies and puddings. We especially enjoy them eaten fresh from the garden but we do preserve and freeze quantities for enjoyment in the winter.” Sylvia continues, “We have always been believers that veggies are good for you and always have a good variety on our plates!” In Wales , the fresh veggies are so much enjoyed and served so copiously they cover the whole of a dinner plate not occupied by meat or fish.

The Harlech garden, as are all productive home gardens in Wales , is the result of a lot of hard back-breaking work. Much of the soil is gritty clay; I remember my grandfather, my father and uncles mixing into the clay year after year the sieved ashes from coal burning fireplaces. The residues of burnt leaves and tree trimmings were also valuable additions to the soil. Lime added each spring helped to break up the clay and adjust the soil’s acidity. There seemed one ingredient more than anything else that helped to promote healthy growth – the composted horse droppings! The Thorne Cousins told me, “We are still fortunate to be able to obtain horse-droppings for our compost pile from a local Snowdonia pony trekking stable. We continue to have a wonderful harvest of tasty produce. When we ran our B and B we always received praises for our home grown items.” A whole article could be written about this subject but I think I will drop it for now!

Returning to our rhubarb subject, I mentioned to Sylvia that the accompanying recipe to this article would be a Rhubarb, Strawberry and Caerphilly Cheese Crumble. Her response was, “Well, that’s too exotic for me, but I do make a rhubarb crumble which we enjoy with ice cream.” Author’s comment: Sylvia is more than capable of making the “exotic” recipe as are all our Ninnau readers!

Chardon , Ohio residents, Phil and Dorothy Thomas report, “Rhubarb pie was a family favorite. Phil’s mother made it a little differently using a large dinner plate instead of a pie pan. Today, nobody is quite sure why a dinner plate was preferred but the rhubarb was stacked high on the bottom pastry layer before adding the top. After baking, the thickness of the filing may have been somewhat thinner than with a typical pie pan, but Mother Thomas had a way with pastry and her combination of filling and pastry was delicious.” Phil continued, “Both in Wales and in Cleveland , Ohio my parents had large rhubarb patches and only the biggest, reddest stalks would do for mother. Even today when Dorothy bakes rhubarb pie my mouth waters no end.” Phil’s family originated from Llangyfelach, Swansea – the site of the 2006 National Eisteddfod which they plan to attend. Note: If any reader is familiar with the “dinner-plate pie making method” please contact me.

Thelma Burgess, born in Tondu, Mid-Glam but now living in Concord , Ohio , remembers a unique way her mother served rhubarb, “My mother put stewed rhubarb over cereal especially shredded wheat, it was dessert with fibre! She also put rhubarb into jelly (Jell-O®) and served it with cold Birdseye® custard. A favorite was stewed rhubarb with homemade ice cream; on Sundays, a delicious creamy ice cream came from a small dairy across the street.”

Thelma continues, “We always had pies on hand because all the family liked sweets and puddings (desserts) which we had almost daily. Also, if someone ‘dropped-in’ we had something to offer - a sweet with a cup of tea.” ‘Dropping-in’ was very common and acceptable in those days because there were few telephones and someone was always at home. It was not unusual to have several such visits in a day. Thelma further said, “We had rhubarb pie quite often because we liked it and it was easy for mother to make. Today, I still love to make rhubarb pie as well as bake a rhubarb crumble.”

Rhubarb is best harvested in the spring and early summer. It can be frozen chopped into 1 to 2 inch segments or in stewed form for year around use.

Mwynhewch Eich Rhiwbob – Enjoy Your Rhubarb!

“Alliff rhywun ddim byw heb fwyd Cymreig da - One cannot live without good Welsh food!”

******************************

RHUBARB, STRAWBERRY AND CAERPHILLY CRUMBLE

By Angela Gray, Welsh TV Chef.

Ingredients serve 6

1 lb 10oz / 750 gm/ rhubarb

10 oz / 300g strawberries

4oz / 100g sugar

2 tablespoons pickled ginger chopped

1 tablespoons pickled ginger liquid

Crumble:  

8 oz / 225 g/plain flour

4 oz / 100 g butter

3oz / 75g Caerphilly cheese

Zest of 1/2 orange

3 oz / 75 g Brown (Demerara) sugar

1 tablespoon Welsh honey  

Method:  

Oven temperature: 375⁰F, 190⁰C, Gas 5

Top and tail the rhubarb and remove the stringy skin. Cut into 1 inch(2.5 cm) lengths, place into a large heatproof dish, sprinkle with the sugar and the pickled ginger with liquid. Cut the strawberries in half and place on top.  

Make the crumble by sifting the flour into a mixing bowl, then rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Crumble in the Caerphilly cheese, and stir in the sugar and orange zest. Spoon over the fruit and even out the surface.  

Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes; remove, then drizzle the top with the honey. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve warm with some whipped cream, organic yogurt or some (Welsh!) vanilla ice cream.  

Note: To locate Caerphilly Cheese in US please visit website: www.WelshFoodie.com or substitute your favorite Cheddar cheese.  

Recipe adapted by Ken Thorne, Ninnau Food Editor.  

Recipe Source: The Welsh Cheese Book by Angela Gray. Gomer Press 2003. Copies of the book may be obtained by clicking on:    Order Form and Other Welsh Books