Sarah Raven’s Rhubarb Charlotte Recipe

Sarah shares her indulgent fruity recipe

Featured Image Credit, Jonathan Buckley

Following a pandemic induced reset of sorts, we’re all focusing on seasonal, local ingredients right now, and how best to utilise them in tasty home-cooked dishes. Having worked as a doctor at the Royal Sussex Hospital, Sarah Raven has since channeled her passion for goodness, health, and general wellbeing into food, with her own cookery and gardening school at Perch Hill in East Sussex and an established mail order gardening company with 400,000 active customers.

Turning her broadcasting talents to podcasting with Arthur Parkinson, Grow, Cook, Eat Arrange can be streamed here – her top tips for growing rhubarb are featured in episode 6.

Ingredients: Serves 8

• 2kg rhubarb
• Juice and zest of 2 oranges
• 3 star anise
• 100g sugar
• 1kg Panettone cut into 2cm thick slices
• 200g butter, melted
• Crème fraîche or Greek yoghurt, to serve

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Choose an ovenproof dish about 30 x 22cm. Poach the fruit gently in orange zest and juice with the star anise and sugar. Mash the fruit to break up any large pieces, but do not purée.
• Cut the edges off the Panettone or the crusts off the bread and, with a pair of scissors, cut the slices into shapes that will completely cover the bottom and sides of the dish. Put some for the top to one side.
• Using a pastry brush, brush a layer of melted butter over the bottom and sides of the dish. Sprinkle with a little sugar and shake the dish to distribute it over the sides and base. Brush both sides of the bread pieces with melted butter and lay them in and round the dish. Spoon in the fruit mixture and cover with the remaining bread, then brush the top generously with melted butter.
• Bake in the oven for at least 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve with crème fraîche or Greek yoghurt.
• TIP: You can prepare this well in advance and heat it up when you want to eat it – baking at 180°C/gas mark 4 just to heat through and to crisp up the top.

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