Rhubarb pizza, and more delicious ways to eat this spring treat

It's that time of year again — rhubarb season. Nothing says spring to me like pouring a little rhubarb purée on porridge, waffles or a biscuit. 

It's cheap, delicious, not difficult to grow and oh so plentiful this time of year. 

Here are a few inventive ways to eat this early summer vegetable.

Fatta a Mano Rhubarb Pizza

​Fatta a Mano is a mobile wood-fired pizza oven, that pops up at small P.E.I. breweries and farmers markets with its local, seasonal sourdough-crust pizzas. 

Thursday night at Copper Bottom Brewery, chef Alex Bevan-Baker baked up a pizza featuring rhubarb seasoned with local sea salt and P.E.I. buckwheat honey, with pork leg braised in apple blossoms. 

"The tartness and slight sweetness of the rhubarb would cut nicely through the rich and fatty braised pork," explained Bevan-Baker, who added extra-aged Island cheddar and wilted turnip greens to the sourdough crust for a "delicious yet unfamiliar pizza."

"As the saying goes, what grows together goes together," Bevan-Baker said.

Rhubarb Lemonade

When I asked for your favourites on Facebook, Loanne MacKay of Charlottetown shared her recipe for simple, refreshing rhubarb lemonade. 

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb 
• 2 cups water
• ¾ cup sugar

1. Pour ¾ cup boiling water over the mix and cook until rhubarb is softened. "I put the mixture through cheesecloth to get a clear fluid," she said. 
2. Add ⅛ cup lemon juice, store in a mason jar.
3. To make a lemonade punch add a couple of tablespoons to a glass of 7-Up, or club soda for a low-calorie option.

For an even simpler rhubarb-y drink, try Sharon Labchuk's trick: freezing unsweetened rhubarb juice in ice cube trays. Drop a cube in a glass of water for a refreshing hit of summer any time. 

Rhubarb Torte

Wednesday evening at Canoe Cove, P.E.I., the community held its annual Rhubarb Social. For just $7.50 people could enjoy their fill of more than a dozen different delicious rhubarb creations. 

This recipe is an original by the late Helen MacLean of Glen Valley, and was baked up by Penny Frizzell for the social. 

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup margarine
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp white sugar 

• ½ cup canned milk 
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 ¼  cup white sugar 
• 3 egg yolks 
• 2 ¼ cups chopped rhubarb

• 3 egg whites 
• ¼ cup white sugar 

1. Combine first four ingredients. Press into bottom of an 8 X 8 pan and bake for 25 minutes at 325 F. 
2. Combine next five ingredients: canned milk, flour, egg yolks, sugar and rhubarb in saucepan and cook until thickened, stirring continually. Pour over shortcake mixture. 
3. Beat egg whites until stiff, adding ¼ cup white sugar. Spread over filling. 
4. Return to the oven for 10 minutes at 375 F. Let cool and enjoy.

Island Bistro Kitchen Rhubarb Vinaigrette 

Barbara Mayhew, the recipe developer and food blogger behind the popular P.E.I. food blog My Island Bistro Kitchen, shared her yummy-looking original recipe for rhubarb vinaigrette.

Mayhew makes her own fresh, preservative-free dressings using quality locally-purchased oils and vinegars. 

• 1 cup rhubarb, sliced
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp grapefruit balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 small green onion, minced
• 1 tsp J.J. Stewart's Dill and Chardonnay Maple Mustard Sauce
• ¼ cup Mandarin orange-infused olive oil
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• ½ tsp minced or puréed garlic (optional)

1. In small saucepan, combine the rhubarb and orange juice.
2. Heat over medium heat and cook until rhubarb has completely softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent scorching. Let cool. 
3. When cool, use an immersion blender to purée the mixture. 
4. Add the maple syrup, vinegar, lemon juice, green onion, mustard, olive oil, sea salt, and garlic (if using). Stir well to combine.
5. Serve over your favourite salad. Keep refrigerated in covered bottle for up to one week. Yields 1 cup of vinaigrette. 

Some other amazing rhubarb recipes you shared via Facebook: muffins, coffee cake, bread pudding, chutney, gluten-free rhubarb squares, fermented rhubarb soda, rhubarb brownies and more. 

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