I Want Another Slice of Rhubarb Bread…

I want another slice of rhubarb tart.
I want another lovely slice.
I’m not disparaging the blueberry pie
But rhubarb tart is oh so very nice.
A rhubarb what?
A rhubarb tart!
A rhubarb tart?
A rhubarb tart!
I want another slice of rhubarb tart!

So begins John Cleese’s Rhubarb Tart Song set to John Phillip Sousa’s rousing marching song, The Washington Post. For some fun, check out John Cleese singing his song on You-Tube. The inimitable Cleese works into his lyrics references to existentialist philosophers, Shakespeare, abstract artists, beekeepers, accountants, tree surgeons and informants in support of his revered rhubarb tart.

[youtube id=”yMpIwbHrgQM” width=”620″ height=”360″]

Rhubarb is a pretty amazing vegetable. On the one hand, it looks like celery dressed up for a ball in a colorful raiment ranging from green to pink to red hues. On the other hand, for centuries it has been used as a laxative and also participates in such commercial commodities as insecticides and metal cleaners. Unlike the celery whose stalks and leaves can be gnawed on at will, rhubarb’s leaves are poisonous and its stalks too sour to consume. Yet when paired with liberal doses of sugar, or combined with strawberries, it can produce wonderful dessert pies, tarts, and toppings whose flavor is greatly enhanced by a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream, or can be employed as a sauce to accompany meat, fish, or fowl.

Each Spring I examine cooking magazines and cookbooks for new ways to serve rhubarb. I had a few extra stalks of rhubarb left over from the Rhubarb and Ginger Bread and Butter Pudding that I made last week, and was looking for a way to use them when The Baking Sheet from King Arthur Flour arrived. A recipe for Strawberry and Rhubarb Quick Bread caught my eye. Rhubarb and Strawberries share fresh green notes, and when rhubarb is ripe it contains a hint of the juicy, strawberry flavor making them a natural pairing. If you like quick breads, do try this recipe from King Arthur Flour. The bread is light and has a subtle fruit flavor that is spring-like and refreshing. When served with a dollop of ice cream and a little of Dorie Greenspan’s Roasted Rhubarb, it makes a great alternative to Strawberry Shortcake.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Strawberry Rhubarb Quick Bread

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

Author: The Baking Sheet by King Arthur Flour

Recipe type: Dessert, Quick Bread

Serves: 16 slices

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups (7½ ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) strawberry powder (optional)
• 1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest or ¼ teaspoon lemon oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1¼ cups (10 ounces) mashed strawberries, cooked rhubarb or any combination of the two
• ½ cup (3½ ounces) vegetable oil
• ½ cup (2 ounces chopped walnuts)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour, or spray with non-stick spray a 9X5 loaf pan.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, strawberry powder, if using, sugar, soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon, eggs, strawberries and/or rhubarb, and vegetable oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until blended. Stir in the nuts.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer. For best flavor and easiest slicing, wrap the bread while slightly warm and let it sit overnight.

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