What is one of the best ways to sneak an extra serving of vegetables in at breakfast or dessert? Pretend the vegetable is a fruit!
Rhubarb is actually a vegetable, despite its famous use in strawberry-rhubarb pie. It is also delicious in savory dishes, but one of my favorite ways to eat it is in compote form, which is just a fancy way of saying a sauce you can use like a jam or finishing syrup.
First, I chopped the rhubarb (just the stalks, not the toxic leaves) into approximately 1 inch slices,
Then I chopped a few fresh apricot, adding sweetness, color, and great flavor to the mix.
The fruit, along with honey, water and a vanilla bean were all added to a large pot and simmered together for a few minutes. The vanilla adds a lovely undertone, but if you don’t have any handy, this compote will still be scrumptious if you skip it – I promise.
The end result is a sweet-tart, delicious mixture that is the consistency of thick applesauce.
Once it cooled, I layered it generously with some Greek style vanilla yogurt and topped it off with my favorite granola.
This has been a great way to start my day this week, and soo easy to put together. It even did double duty as dessert one night!
Rhubarb & Apricot Compote Parfait
Compote
1 lb fresh rhubarb, chopped in 1 inch slices
½ lb fresh apricots (about 4), pitted and chopped
½ cup clover honey
½ cup water
1 vanilla bean
Parfait
Rhubarb-apricot compote
20 oz of Greek style vanilla yogurt
granola for garnish (optional)
Add the rhubarb, apricots, honey and water to a large pot. Scrape the seeds out of the center of the vanilla bean, and add both the seeds and the pod to the pot. Place the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb has started to soften. Remove from the heat, remove the vanilla pod from the pot, and let the rhubarb mixture cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Makes ~2.5 cups of compote.
To make the parfait, layer equal amounts of the Rhubarb & Apricot Compote and Greek style vanilla flavored yogurt in a glass. Garnish with granola and serve. Makes 5 parfaits.
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