Rhubarb is one of the best treats of spring and early summer. These long stalks are technically part of the vegetable family, despite a U.S. court ruling in 1947 that classified it as a fruit—because it's typically eaten with dessert.
But that's neither here nor there. Its tart and tangy flavor makes it ideal for combining with sugar and sweeter fruits (like strawberries), and baking into pies and cakes. While we'll always love a good and gooey rhubarb pie, we don't always have time for a full-on baking project. Enter: rhubarb sauce. Sauce is one of the simplest, quickest ways to coax a versatile dessert from your rhubarb. It's infinitely customizable, and is equally delicious spooned over yogurt, drizzled over ice cream, stirred into oatmeal, and so much more. Here's how to go from stalk to sauce in 30 minutes flat.
Whether your rhubarb stalks are thin or fat doesn't matter. Just chop them into small pieces.
Chop It
Rhubarb stalks vary in size; they can be as thin as your pinkie finger or a couple inches wide. This doesn't matter for the purpose of sauce. Just rinse the stalks clean (discard the leaves!) and chop them roughly into 1-inch pieces. Add them to a medium to medium-large sauce pot, even if you're only making a small batch. The sauce will bubble and spit as it cooks.
Season It
At its most basic, all rhubarb sauce needs is rhubarb and sugar. But it provides such a great blank canvas for customization, why not play around with flavors? Rhubarb plays well with vanilla (add a split bean to your pot), ginger (peel and mince fresh a tablespoon or so of ginger root), cardamom (mix in a couple of crushed pods), and, of course, other berries (chop and toss 'em in, too). If using extracts, like vanilla or almond, don't add them until the sauce has finished cooking. The same goes for citrus zest, which can become bitter if cooked for too long.
