Mike Van de Elzen: Creme brulee with rhubarb

Hope we are all enjoying the school holidays! We are managing to get through them just.  This week we have just started to harvest some Rhubarb, which is a bit odd as you mainly relate to rhubarb being used in heavier winter desserts and dishes. However rhubarb is in fact a spring vegetable or fruit.  Rhubarb is in fact a fruit not a vegetable. In 1947, a New Yolk court ruled that it was to be counted as a fruit for the reason being it has no seed and grows in the dirt.   However, Rhubarb does have seeds and new plants can be propagated from seed but it is not recommended. So it can be classified as a vegetable but for culinary purposes is a fruit.  Let’s eat creme brulee. Vanilla creme brulee is such a good thing to match with Rhubarb as the slight tartness of the fruit cuts through the vanilla brulee.    Creme brulee w muscovado Rhubarb  Cook time: 45 minutes  Prep time: 10 minutes  Serves: 6    750ml cream   1/2 cup caster sugar   1/4 tsp vanilla paste   6 egg yolks   1 whole egg   6 tbsp caster sugar (for the caramel top)   4 sticks rhubarb, peeled and cut into pieces   4 star anise   4 cinnamon bark   2 tbsp muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar   2 tbsp water  Preheat oven to 140*C (NOT fan-forced). Place cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring the heat until hot (do not allow to boil). Whisk egg yolks, and whole egg in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Slowly add in the cream mixture until well combined. Allow to settle for a couple of minutes before skimming all bubbles off the surface of the cream.   For the muscovado rhubarb, place the rhubarb into a pot along with the star anise, cinnamon and sugar. Bring to the boil and turn down until tender, remove from the heat.   Place a tsp of rhubarb into the bottom of each mould and then slowly pour over the brulee mix   Place the moulds in a deep roasting dish, then pour boiling water into the bottom of the dish until it reaches halfway up the bowls. Very carefully place the roasting dish in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the crème brulee form the oven and allow to cool before placing into your fridge to chill.   Once the creme brulee is cool, place a tbsp of caster sugar over each brulee and using a gas torch, caramelise the sugar until its super dark. Mike’s website – goodfromscratch.co.nz  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.