Rhubarb Mousse

Harbinging Again



During the 80s my family would gather each Memorial Day weekend at my parents home for what we called our Family Birthday Party. At the time my brothers lived in New York and my sister in North Carolina and we just found it too difficult for everyone to come home for Christmas, so we gathered at the end of May instead.

In addition to my immediate family, my aunt Gloria (Glo-Buns as her kids called her) always came and often one or two of her kids would be in town so we'd have cousins and a few friends show up for one or two days. There was always lots of beer and wine, lots of hugs and jokes, and lots of food.

Both of my brothers and my sister as well as my parents cook, so we'd take turns over the long weekend preparing meals. The weather always seemed to work out (I don't recall more than one or two rainy days in those years) and we'd laze around the pool and talk about what we'd just cooked or what we were going to cook next and swap recipes and tips. My mother would mention these weekends to other women on occasion and they’d be quick to commiserate with her about, "having to cook for all those people." Her response was, "I don’t have to cook a thing, everyone else takes care of it."

As these things do, eventually the family birthday parties ended when other demands -- spouses, children -- began taking priority. But while they lasted, those were elysian days.

I always made a point of creating at least one new recipe for the meal I prepared. It was a good excuse for exercising my creative urges with added benefit of having a house full of foodies to share it with. One year I decided to do something with rhubarb and eventually settled on making a rhubarb mousse.

Rhubarb imparts a wonderful tanginess to this ethereal French concoction of air and sweetness. For that particular event -- and a few times since -- I made cupped tuiles out of almond flour to serve the mousse in. The almond presents a nice flavor backdrop to the rhubarb.

The clerk at the store asked it I was making rhubarb pie, “Nope. Rhubarb mousse.” She looked at me like I was crazy.

Rhubarb Mousse

1 lb rhubarb – cut into 1” lengths
1/4 c water
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin (1 envelope)
1 - 2 ea lime
2 ea egg yolks
2 c heavy cream, chilled

Peel lime, being careful not to include pith, cut into strips, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate. Squeeze juice from lime(s). You need about 1 tablespoon.

Place rhubarb in a large sauce pan with water and 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until rhubarb breaks down. Transfer to a food processor, add gelatin and lime juice, and process until smooth. Allow to cool.

In a double boiler, beat the egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until they are a pale yellow. Cook over just bubbling water, stirring constantly, until yolks have thickened. Cool to room temperature.

Combine rhubarb mixture with egg mixture. In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff and fold into rhubarb mixture. If you want to serve the mousse in tuiles then chill in a large bowl for at least 3 hours. Otherwise, spoon into individual dessert cups or wine goblets and chill for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, garnish with strips of lime peel. Serves 6.

I was lucky to find rhubarb this early in the year. It, like daffodils, is a harbinger of Spring but doesn't usually appear until later. Perhaps Spring will arrive early this year, the trees outside my windows certainly seem to think so.

Technorati: Food | recipe | dessert | mousse | rhubarb | shf | sugar high friday