Rhubarb & Fig Compote
I am all for unusual pairings in the kitchen- life is too short to always be playing it safe when it comes to food. Oh I respect people who know what they like and stick to that... I just find them a little boring! Come on people- give some new things a go and enjoy a little!
The usual combination in a traditional dessert would be rhubarb with raspberry or strawberry. I think that the main reason, to be honest, is because people don't want to lose the nice vibrant color of the rhubarb once it is peeled and replace it with something that has a similar color, such as the berries. Well, this time, I just wanted to try out a new flavor combination... but lo and behold- the colors here were just as beautiful if not more so!
This was a very simple thing to prepare. First of all, obviously the rhubarb needs to be peeled. Try to take off as thin a layer as possible so that a little pink remains as long as the rhubarb is young and tender... otherwise- the pink will have to go!
Next, slice the fig into bite-sized slices and cut the rhubarb stalks to about the same size. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and dust lightly with Stevia. Now add a little lime juice and a star aniseed to flavor the juices, a tiny pinch of salt and a little bit of water. As simple as that!
Pop it into a pre-heated oven at the highest temperature for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently flip over the top pieces carefully and return to the oven. After a further 10 minutes, turn the oven off and allow to cool for at least an hour- better still prepare this before going to bed and let it sit in the residual heat of the oven until it cools overnight. The natural pectin in the rhubarb will bind those delicious juices and create a nice syrup from them- just gently stir to make sure everything becomes nice and moist again and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for example... or some Greek yogurt... or... ?
In any case... enjoy!
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