Featured Local, Seasonal Ingredient: Rhubarb
At the farmer’s market, I noticed that many people do not recognize rhubarb. Or if they do, they may not feel completely comfortable with it in the kitchen. So let’s get to know one of my favorite local crops.
Technically, rhubarb is a perennial vegetable, even though it’s usually treated like a fruit in recipes.
Rhubarb is very tart in flavor and has a crisp, celery-like texture when eaten raw (which is not usually how it is consumed.) Often, it is cooked and softened in recipes with plenty of sugar to transition it into desserts such as pies, crisps, jams, and cakes.
But I believe that it can be surprisingly delicious in savory / meal applications as well so that is what I really hope to explore with rhubarb this year.
When is rhubarb in season in Utah?
In Northern Utah, rhubarb season typically starts in May, so it is often considered a spring crop. Especially since it is one of the first produce items available each year.
However, it is technically available all season up until frost if the crops are managed with this goal.
This recipe is tagged as a spring, summer, & fall seasonal recipe for this reason.
You can explore all of the spring seasonal recipes, summer seasonal recipes, and fall seasonal recipes here.
Sourcing Local Rhubarb
The rhubarb that I use for my recipes comes from either my home garden or from the farm Keep It Real Vegetables in Layton, Utah.
Keep It Real Vegetables
Keep It Real Vegetables is a mixed vegetable and cut flower farm in Layton that uses organic and regenerative growing practices. I work there as the cut-flower program manager, so a lot of the seasonal produce that I cook with throughout the year comes from the farm. Because Keep It Real Vegetables has so many rhubarb plants, it is available for most of the summer. You can get your hands on some at the Salt Lake City Summer Farmers Market and the Wheeler Farm Summer Sunday Farmers Market. We also wholesale rhubarb to chefs and restaurants in the Salt Lake City area.
Growing Your Own Rhubarb
If you live in the right climate and have the space for the large plants, rhubarb is actually pretty easy to grow. The plants get to be about 3’ wide and 3’ tall and thrive in full sun.
Rhubarb generally grows best in USDA Zones 3–8 and prefers areas with cold winters. It needs winter chill and a dormancy period to perform well long-term. Gardeners in colder climates often end up with huge plants that come back year after year with very little effort.
If you live somewhere with mild winters, rhubarb can struggle without enough cold exposure.
Once established, it produces more than you know what to do with, which is exactly why savory recipes can be helpful.
*An important note on eating/cooking with rhubarb
One important thing to know: only eat the stalks. Never use rhubarb leaves.
The leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid and related compounds and are considered toxic.
Also, people with a history of kidney stones may want to be mindful of large amounts of rhubarb since it naturally contains oxalates.
For most people, enjoying rhubarb in normal amounts isn’t an issue, but it’s useful information to know.
About This Recipe
Raw rhubarb has a crisp texture and bright tartness that can work a little like green apple, pickled vegetables, or even celery in savory dishes.
In this chicken salad, I wanted the rhubarb to stay raw and crunchy rather than cooked down. The result feels lighter and fresher than traditional chicken salad and the rhubarb brings acidity and freshness to the dish.
Other Local, Seasonal Ingredients Used in This Recipe
- Chives & Chive Flowers – from my perennial herb garden
- Tarragon– from my perennial herb garden
- Honey– from my friend Sheraya at Fulton Family Farm
For this version, I used chives, chive blossoms, and tarragon from my herb garden. The chives and chive flowers gave a delicious, delicate onion flavor to the dish. Plus, the chive flowers are just so cute topped on all sorts of dishes. They are easily one of my favorite edible flowers since they are so delicious!
Adjusting the recipe to your palate and what’s in season
The recipes that I share here are meant to be a starting point or inspiration point for you in your own kitchen.
I enjoy creatively exploring seasonal ingredients and finding new ways to use what’s abundant, rather than trying to create one final “perfect” recipe.
Use what you can get your hands on locally and what’s currently in season. If you have herbs growing in the garden, this is an easy place to customize based on what’s ready to harvest.
Feel free to adjust this recipe to your taste. Add more herbs, more lemon, more spices, more Dijon, or use ingredients already in your pantry, fridge, or garden. Seasonal cooking is flexible, and experimenting is part of the fun.
Linked Supplies:
The items below are Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase from the link, a very small amount of that purchase goes toward supporting this blog. This is at no additional cost to you.
Ceramic Berry Bowls (Pictured Above)
I love my ceramic berry bowls for harvesting into and easy rinsing. Especially for herbs and small garden items. You can grab your own here.
Serving Suggestions
I tried this chicken salad several ways and it all comes down to your preferences- you can eat it as a lettuce wrap or over shredded lettuce especially if you have spring lettuce in your garden or farmer’s market.
Or- try it with crackers, on a roll, tortilla, or with a fork.
It really has everything you want – crunchy, tangy, fresh, savory, and satisfying so it is easy to have as a meal or snack without additional sides.
The Recipe:
Rhubarb Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken 560 g
- 1½ cups chopped rhubarb cut into small pieces (165 g)
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt 180 g
- ¼ cup mayonnaise 56 g
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 30 g
- 1 tbsp honey 21 g
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 15 g
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper 1 g
Flexible Ingredients
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives 6 g
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon 2 g
- 1/2 cup chive blossoms 16–20 g (seperated into florets
- ⅓ cup chopped or sliced nuts
Instructions
- Wash and slice the rhubarb stalks thinly into small bite-sized pieces. If stalks are thick, cut them lengthwise first. *leaves are toxic do not consume leaves.
- In a large bowl whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, honey, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Adjust to taste.
- Add shredded chicken, rhubarb, and any herbs and nuts that you want to add. (chives, tarragon, chive blossoms, and chopped nuts)
- Fold until evenly coated – taste again and adjust as desired.
Notes
- Rhubarb leaves are toxic; do not consume rhubarb leaves
- Shredding one rotisserie chicken allowed me to double the recipe
- Adjust herbs & seasoning as desired
- Great served in butter lettuce cups, on rolls, a croissant, wrapped in tortillas, with crackers, or over mixed greens.
- Visit Together We Bloom for more rhubarb recipes & other seasonal recipes from farmer/foodie Taylor.
Do you love Pinterest too?
Click the image below to see this pin on Pinterest and save it for later. Or you can visit my Rhubarb Recipe Pinterest Board with lots of recipe ideas and inspiration.
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2 Responses
Love this! I don’t have enough rhubarb recipes! Definitely going to be making it soon.
I hope that you enjoy it! It is so fun to have diverse ways to use rhubarb in the spring!