How to make a lime roasted rhubarb and pistachio salad

As vibrant spears of British rhubarb emerge and appear on our shelves, consider switching your usual “fruity” dessert recipe for one that gives this vegetable the savoury treatment

You can always add goats cheese or prosciutto to this vegan salad for a different take (Photos Julia Platt Leonard)

Rhubarb may be a vegetable but we treat it like a fruit. Crumbles, pies, curds and jams are the usual suspects come spring, when British rhubarb makes it annual appearance.

But rhubarb is a dream with savoury dishes – pickled and served with duck or in a compote for mackerel and other oily fish.

It has a sharpness that is a nice counterpoint to these rich and fatty proteins.

You can of course temper rhubarb with sugar or honey, but use a light hand so you don’t take away all of its tartness.

For this recipe, rhubarb is the star of a salad. Lime juice adds an acidic hit and some dried lime leaves are tucked under the rhubarb during roasting.

You can find lime leaves in many Asian groceries or online at steenbergs.co.uk.

Served as is, this is a lovely vegan salad but you could add goat’s cheese or whisper-thin slices of prosciutto as well.

(Julia Platt Leonard)

Lime-roasted rhubarb and pistachio salad

Serves 4 as a side

Salad

Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp honey
3 large spears of rhubarb, about 450g
3 lime leaves (optional)
Pea shoots to garnish (optional)
50g pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
4 large handfuls of curly endive or other lettuce, about 140g total

Rhubarb-lime vinaigrette

Juice of half a lime
50ml olive oil
Pan juices from the roasted rhubarb, about 1 tbsp in total

Preheat oven to 220C. Wash and slice the rhubarb into sticks about 5-6cm in length. Place in an ovenproof pan and toss with the lime juice, honey and a sprinkle of salt. If using the lime leaves, tuck them under the rhubarb spears.

Place the pan in the oven and roast the rhubarb for about 10 minutes, turning once 5 minutes in, until you can insert a knife into the spears but they still hold their shape. Remove from the oven, place the rhubarb onto a plate and set aside until you’re ready to assemble the salad.

Pour any cooking juices into a small bowl or jug. Add the juice of half a lime and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The vinaigrette should be sharp with a hint of sweetness. If it’s too tart, you can add a touch more honey. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the curly endive on a serving platter, top with the cooked rhubarb and toasted pistachios and drizzle over with the vinaigrette.

@juliaplattleonard