RHUBARB SHRUB

 From Christina Chaey's Gentle Foods Substack newsletter

Ingredients:

2 c rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/2" thick, divided

1 c (200 g) sugar

1/4 c water

1 c vinegar (sherry or rice)

Methodology:

Place half the rhubarb in a heatproof bowl.

Combine the remaining rhubarb, sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally.  Scrape mixture into heatproof bowl with remaining rhubarb and stir to combine. 

Let the mixture sit at room temperature for a few hours, stirring occasionally. 

Add vinegar and stir to combine.  Taste and add more sugar or vinegar as you please - it should be equal parts sweet and tart.  Cover the container and chill mixture for at least 24 hours, up to 3 days, until you're happy with the flavor. 

Strain the shrub and store for up to 6 weeks, refrigerated.  The solid pieces of rhubarb are great for snacking or stirred into yoghurt. 

Serve by stirring a few teaspoons into a glass of seltzer. 

DOVER SOLE & SIMPLE BROWNED BUTTER SAUCE FOR WHITE FISH

For the fish:

From this Wulf's Fish recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole dover sole, cleaned and gutted, skin on

Methodology:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Place fish on a foil lined baking sheet.

Roast uncovered 10-15 minutes,  The fish will be cooked when you can easily remove the skin and the top fillets from the bone.

For the sauce:

From this Wulf's Fish online recipe

Ingredients:

2 T salted butter

2 T capers, chopped

2 T parsley, finely minced

Juice from 1/2 lemon, about 2 t

Methodology:

Gently melt and then brown the butter, turning off the heat as soon as the butter begins to go past pale gold and smell nutty.  Stir in the capers, parsley, and lemon juice.  

Serve table-side.

HALF-SOUR PICKLES

Ingredients:

4 kirby cucumbers, halved lengthwise
3.5% of water kosher salt*
1/4 t mustard seeds
1/4 t celery seeds
1/8 t dill seeds
1/8 t whole black peppercorns
3 garlic cloves, bashed and quartered*
1 t kefir
5 stems fresh dill
Cold tap water to fill pint jar


Methodology:

Place salt, kefir and spices in jar, and add about 1 c water.  Swirl to combine and dissolve salt.  Add cukes and dill stems, and fill jar completely with water, leaving 1/2" headroom at top.

Ferment 10 days in the fridge, and enjoy!

*8/8/18, edited to add: these turned out delicious, but too salty.  Reduce salt to 3.5% of actual amount of water that fits into the jar, rather than 3.5% of total volume.  The garlic flavor was also quite prominent, so reduce that a bit.

*9/18/18, edited to add: made a second batch following the above recommendations.  Also omitted the kefir.  The saltiness was corrected, but the pickles did not seem to sour, so must make sure to always include leftover brine or kefir.