Molded strawberry rhubarb dessert terrine, with fresh strawberries, rhubarb, lemon juice, and orange zest.
Strawberry and rhubarb has to be one of the world’s best pairings. We love the way tart rhubarb (ever try to eat raw rhubarb?) dances with sweet strawberries in cobblers and pies.
In this terrine, orange zest makes an appearance as well. I made this on a whim a week ago to help escape from the heat; an encore performance was demanded a few days later.
Each recipe makes two terrines. (That’s four terrines for 3 people in 4 days.) So pretty too!
Strawberry Rhubarb Terrine Recipe
- Yield: Serves 8 to 12
Ingredients
- 1 pound rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch segments (if rhubarb stalks are large and stringy, peel first)
- 3 cups water, divided into 2 cups and 1 cup
- 3/4 cups sugar
- Grated zest from one orange
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 quarter-ounce packets of plain, unflavored gelatin
- 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
Special equipment:
- 2 5×9 loaf pans
Method
1 Cook the rhubarb: Bring 2 cups of water, the orange zest, and the sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the lemon juice and rhubarb pieces. Bring to a simmer. Let cook for about 4 minutes, until rhubarb is just tender, but not disintegrating. Remove the pan from the heat.
2 Soften the gelatin: While the rhubarb is simmering, put 1 cup of cold water in a small bowl. Pour the gelatin from the packets over the water. Stir to make sure all of the gelatin powder is wet. Let soften for about a minute.
3 Combine gelatin water and rhubarb mixture: Put the gelatin water into the rhubarb sugar mixture. Slowly stir so as not to break up the rhubarb, but to make sure the softened gelatin is completely dissolved.
4 Pour into loaf pans, add strawberries: Pour mixture into two loaf pans, evenly divided, or one large casserole dish. Add the strawberries to the pans, gently distributing them among the rhubarb pieces.
5 Chill: Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6 hours, or overnight, until firm.
6 Un-mold: Fill a large bowl or basin with very warm water. Dip the bottom of one of the loaf pans into the water and count ten seconds.
Remove from the water and run a blunt knife along the edges of the pan to break the suction.
Place a serving platter upside down over the pan and gently turn the pan over.
You might need to give it a little tap to release the terrine from the mold. If it’s stubborn, place it back in the warm water for a few more seconds.
