Here in northern Ontario where I live, rhubarb is the first harvest from the garden that we look forward to. In anticipation of a meal of homemade pasta and grilled eggplant that’s planned for tonight (thanks to Michael who is willing to share his expertise in Italian cooking gained in the kitchens of his mother and grandmother) I picked some rhubarb from the garden for a very Canadian dessert. Here’s the result, adapted from a Peach Kuchen recipe from the More With Less cookbook (fyi – I doubled it):
Red Lake Rhubarb Kuchen
Combine in bowl:
1 1/3 cup sifted flour (I used a combination of unbleached white and whole wheat flour)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 T sugar
Then, cut in 1/3 butter (I used half butter and half light olive oil) and then pat mixture over bottom and sides of a 9″ pie pan or skillet.
Arrange in pastry:
2 cups fresh diced rhubarb
Then sprinkle rhubarb with:
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon (I used honey)
Bake 15 minutes.
Combine:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sour cream, sour milk, yogurt, or combination
Pour over rhubarb and bake 30 minutes longer.
Okay, now it’s confession time – as I was typing up this recipe, I realized that I had baked the crust without the rhubarb (I have no excuse, I guess I wasn’t as wide awake as I thought)! Since I realized this, I’ve had a small taste of it, and the rhubarb is slightly under baked but still tasty. I also decreased the amount of honey by a bit, so it is a little tart. It will still be dessert for tonight, but with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side to balance the tartness. And next time, the rhubarb definitely will be baked for the right length of time.
I appreciate this post and the recipe for Kuchen. My younger years were spending growing up on an orchard in the Okanagan region of BC.
My grandmother used to make Kuchen using the fruit that was is season at the time. (apples, cherries, plums, peaches or apricots) Walking into her kitchen and smelling the fresh baked Kuchen is one of many happy childhood memories. Grandma passed away 2 years ago at the age of 98 and many times I long for her and her Kuchen.
Smells/aromas can be such powerful memory triggers. I remember how, for years, the smell of fresh dill reminded me of my Grandma and her garden. Thanks for sharing yours, Sassy – I hope you’ll be inspired to fill your kitchen with the fragrance of kuchen, too!
Hi Christine, This is too funny as another smell from my Grandma on the orchard years is the smell of fresh dill in the morning (the room I slept in when I stayed with her had a window which opened up onto her vegetable garden)
Now I’m super inspired, (don’t suppose there is such a thing as Dill Kuchen, is there?) 🙂
LOL – maybe all Grandmas with gardens have dill “perfume” for their grandchildren’s memories? And as for Dill Kuchen – hmmmm I’m not sure. If you come up with a recipe, please share!
Hi Christine,
My mother-in-law, Loretta who passed away a few years ago, made the most fantastic Rhubarb Kuchen with an almost cookie-like dough and sour cream & egg topping, just like yours. I lost Loretta’s recipe and every year at rhubarb season, I try to find one that’s similar. Your technique and ingredients are what I remember. will try this week and let you know how it turned out! Thanks so much.