This zingy compote brings together three ingredients that can be found growing in late winter / early Spring - when the sparse season means that supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables are limited - so is a welcome pop of colour and flavour to enliven a breakfast, or indeed a dessert later in the day. It’s also a fun way of getting some vegetables in at the start of the day!
I picked the early rhubarb from our veg patch here at Botelet Farm; the beetroot and lemons were grown within Cornwall and sourced via Fruutbox, and the honey is made locally.
I cooked this compote for Marcus Alleyne of Black Voices Cornwall and we used it to top granola bowls as we shared breakfast during Episode 12 of Breakfast & Beyond - do take a listen.
Recipe: Rhubarb, Beetroot & Lemon Compote
Serves approx 4
Ingredients:
200g rhubarb (weight after topped & tailed)
100g beetroot
Rind of 1 lemon, juice of 3 lemons
Small nub of fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
1.5 tbsp honey (replace with maple syrup for a vegan version)
100g dried apricots
100ml water
1 star anise
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp chia seeds
Method:
Wash the rhubarb stalks and chop into small pieces. Wash and grate the beetroot. Finely chop the apricots. Place all in a medium sized saucepan.
Finely grate the find into the saucepan, add the lemon juice, water, a decent grating of fresh ginger and the star anise.
Simmer for approx 8 minutes stirring regularly, until ingredients are well combined and softened but there’s still a little shape to the rhubarb pieces.
Take off the heat, remove the star anise and stir through the vanilla extract and chia seeds. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes to enable the chia seeds to absorb some of the liquid, then eat warm, allow to cool completely or store in the fridge for up to three days.
