Speaking of the rhubarb harvest

Here are a couple of my ideas.

My favourite rhubarb recipe is roasted. You don't get a broken down mush like substance which might be fine for a crumble base, but not so hot if you want it to look good as well.

Roasted Rhubarb

Serves 4

550g rhubarb

85g golden caster sugar

Pre-heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6.

Rinse the rhubarb and shake off excess water. Trim the ends and cut the rhubarb into small pieces. Put the rhubarb in a shallow dish or baking sheet with sides, tip the sugar over, toss it then shuffle the rhubarb so it remains in a single layer. It's important that you cut your rhubarb as small and as evenly as possible. 1 cm slices is just the job – there's no need to take ages measuring every piece – cut one or two to get the 1 cm slice and then use your eyes as a guide.

Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the foil – the sugar should have dissolved so give everything a shake and roast for another 10/15 minutes or until tender and the juices are syrupy. Test with a sharp knife, the rhubarb should be cooked through and kept its shape.

For the sake of argument you'll finish up with 600g of rhubarb.

What next? Since rhubarb and vanilla are one of the greatest marriages it seems rude not to take advantage.