My grandma had rhubarbs growing in her garden and would cook them into a sweet, tangy and unfortunately quite stringy soup with lots of little bits in it. I never liked that soup. She passed away while I was still young so I don’t remember a lot about her. But I do still remember that soup. How annoying is that!? One of the few memories you have of a person is something they cooked for you that you didn’t like. Eight year old David preferred supermarket box carton soups and powder soups that you just added water to. That ungrateful little schmuck.
Since then, I have of course come to my senses and learned to appreciate any food that someone cooks for me. Even tangy and stringy rhubarb soup. But since I don’t want to risk being remembered for a stringy soup, we give you a smooth one instead. It’s approved by eight year old David. And his children.
We made this video for our youtube channel to show how easy it is.
We like this soup because it’s so simple and fresh and comes together in just over 10 minutes. You only need a handful ingredients that you simmer, blend, (chill, if you like) and serve. It has a fruity and tangy flavour and a nice punch from fresh ginger. It’s ideal as a weekday dessert, weekend breakfast or on a brunch table.
The soup begs to be topped with something creamy. We used greek yogurt, but mascarpone, whipped cream, ice cream or any dairy free option would also work. All to your preference.
I’m a licorice fan and was surprised by how well it matched the flavors when sprinkled on top of this soup. However if you don’t like licorice, cardamom or vanilla would also be great flavor additions. We also sprinkled some edible flower petals on top because it looked pretty but chopped pistachios will probably taste better and add some crunch ;)
Rhubarb, Ginger & Strawberry Soup
Serves 8
Don’t focus too much on the exact amounts. You can use more or less rhubarb, strawberries, dates, water etc. It all depends on how sweet or tart the different fruit is, how large the dates are and how sweet flavor you want.
We usually add vanilla powder to this but it’s so expensive at the moment so we left it out. If you have some at home, add it together with the rhubarb in the sauce pan.
5 stalks rhubarb (1/2 kg / 1 lb / 2 cups chopped)
350 – 500 ml / 1 1/2-2 cups cold filtered water
1 big chunk fresh ginger
1 lime, zest
250 g / 1/2 lb strawberries
8-12 soft dates
To serve
Yogurt (or mascarpone, whipped cream or ice cream)
Licorice powder
Edible flowers (or replaced with chopped nuts or seeds)
Trim the rhubarb and chop into 1 inch bits. Add to a wide sauce pan along with 1 cup filtered water and freshly grated ginger and lime zest. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer until the rhubarb is starting to dissolve, around 5-8 minutes.
Pour over into a blender. Add strawberries, dates and a little more water. Mix until smooth. Taste and add more dates, strawberries, lime juice or ginger, if needed. And more water if you like it thinner. Place in the fridge too cool or serve it warm. Top with a dollop yogurt and sprinkle with licorice powder and some dried edible flower petals.
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