Rhubarb Fool
Ingredients
Serves 8
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1 kg rhubarb, trimmed and coarsely chopped
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300g vanilla sugar
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500ml double cream
Instructions
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5.
Step 2 - Mix the rhubarb and vanilla sugar together in an ovenproof dish. Do not add water. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the fruit is completely soft.
Step 3 - Drain in a colander, or sieve, and pour the juice (you should have about 500ml) into a saucepan, then heat and let bubble away until reduced by about half.
Step 4 - Pour into a jug and leave to cool; do not, however refrigerate as the syrup might crystallise and lose its fabulous puce clarity.
Step 5 - Puree the fruit until totally smooth, then cool and chill this as well (I found that it became much paler in colour when pureed until smooth).
Step 6 - Whip the cream in a large chilled bowl until lusciously thick but not stiff.
Step 7 - Carefully fold in the rhubarb puree, then some of the reduced juice, so the mixture is streaked, rather like raspberry ripple ice cream.
Step 8 - Put the juice in a glass jug so that people can add more, if they want, as they eat. Or frankly, you could instead use half the amount of rhubarb juice in the pan for reducing and use the remaining 250ml for adding to champagne for a fabulous, blush-pink summer drink.
By Nigella Lawson from Forever Summer