Rhubarb and Lychee Sauce

Produce: Lychee, Rhubarb, and Oranges from the farm

Ingredients:

• 3 Stalks of Rhubarb chopped
• 1 1/2 Cups peeled and chopped lychee berries
• 1/2 Cup honey
• 1 Cup (maybe more) sugar
• Orange Zest

Method:  In a large saucepan add chopped rhubarb. Then fill with water to the top of the fruit. Bring to simmer on medium heat, and let cook for up to 1 hour. Add the lychee pieces, honey and sugar. You can add in water as needed. 

Cook until the rhubarb is soft and falls apart (about another hour).  Once sauce gets to the desired consistency, take off the heat. Chill. Serve with orange zest garnish.

Result: still working toward perfection

Rhubarb is like coffee- you have to add sugar to your liking. Although I can drink black coffee regularly, rhubarb is better as a dessert.

This sauce is great independently, but could work well with ice cream, crepes, or shortbread. I've been trying to marry the bitter flavor of rhubarb and the super sweet lychee flavor for a long time (that's how nerdy I am). When I saw both these items at the farmer's market, I was quick to add them to the wheelbarrow. My mom always made rhubarb sauce, with 3 ingredients- rhubarb, sugar and water. This is an exotic version. I tried to add cocao nibs, as a play on bitter-sweet. Eh, leave them out. It didn't enhance the flavor in the way I'd hoped. Next trial I plan to play with adding orange juice and geletain. I may also change my ratio of rhubarb to lychee. The lychee berry is a subtle sweet flavor, and can get masked by the other ingredients. While this is a perfectly good recipe, it still needs some perfecting.