My mom has been making rhubarb juice for years. She has a beautiful clump of rhubarb in her perennial garden that produces more fruit than one family can consume.
At family dinners, she will often offer rhubarb juice as a substitute for wine. As pretty as the rhubarb juice is, I usually stick with a glass of wine!
My rhubarb patch at the farm is starting to show signs of life and I still have a few pounds of rhubarb left in the freezer from last summer.
This coming Sunday, we are having friends over for dinner so I thought I would make a rhubarb syrup to drop into the bottom of a glass of Prosecco. The sour of the rhubarb and the sweetness of the Prosecco will make a lovely aperitif!
RHUBARB SYRUP
makes 3 1/2 cups
4 cups strawberry rhubarb, cut into 1″ pieces
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
Place everything in a medium-sized sauce pot and bring to a boil. Boil gently until rhubarb is soft. Rhubarb can be finicky so just keep checking!
Set a fine sieve over a medium size bowl and pour the rhubarb mixture into sieve.
Allow rhubarb mixture to drain until liquid stops running…about 1/2 hour
Pour the syrup through a funnel into a jar or bottle. Allow the syrup to cool before covering the bottle.
Syrup will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
To make my Rhubarb Bellini…place 2 tablespoons of rhubarb syrup in the bottom of a champagne flute. Then gently pour the Prosecco down the inside of the flute until it reaches the top! It is a perfect Springtime cocktail.
We can forever think of William and Kate, as we raise our glass of bubbles in the Spring!
Thanks for reading!