Strawberry-Rhubarb Fool

How do you tame rhubarb's tartness without losing its true flavor? We cooked 50 pounds of it to find out.

YIELD Serves 8

TIME 35 minutes, plus 20 minutes soaking, 20 minutes cooling, and 1 hour chilling

Strawberry-Rhubarb Fool photo

Why This Recipe Works

Gather Your Ingredients

Instructions

1.

Soak rhubarb in 1 gallon cold water for 20 minutes. Drain, pat dry with paper towels, and cut rhubarb crosswise into slices 1/2-inch thick.

2.

Bring orange juice, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt to boil in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rhubarb and strawberries and return to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring only 2 or 3 times (frequent stirring causes rhubarb to become mushy), until rhubarb begins to break down and is tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer rhubarb and strawberries to nonreactive bowl, cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

3.

Beat cream and remaining sugar in bowl of standing mixer on low speed until small bubbles form, about 45 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 45 seconds longer. Increase speed to high; continue beating until cream is smooth, thick, and nearly doubled in volume and forms soft peaks, about 30 seconds.

4.

To assemble fool, spoon about 1/4 cup rhubarb and strawberries into each of eight 8-ounce glasses, then spoon in a layer of about 1/4 cup whipped cream. Repeat, ending with dollop of cream; serve. Can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 6 hours. (To make one large fool, double the recipe and layer rhubarb, strawberries and whipped cream in a 12-cup glass bowl.)

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