Rhubarb Bars

I love stewed rhubarb poured over ice cream. It's a spring treat for me. Vegan ice cream is yucky however so that limits my indulgence. (If you have a favourite vegan ice cream, please let me know!) I bought rhubarb last week and then realized that I didn't know what to do with it anymore. Rhubarb is not a common ingredient in recipe books but I found this one recipe that I decided to try.

I found it a bit sweet so I will cut the sugar I half next time to see if that makes a difference. It ends up like a fig newton type bar. Don't worry if the dough seems too crumbly to actually become one solid piece; it does come together in the oven.

Rhubarb Bar (adapted from Extra Vegan Za)

3 cups rhubarb cut in 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup organic sugar (I will use only 1/2 cup next time)
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or regular flour if gluten isn't an issue)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (these are not gluten free)
3/4 cups organic sugar (to be reduced again next time)
3/4 cup hard margarine (not the tub - Earth Balance is vegan)

Put the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and put over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the rhubarb becomes mushy. This mixture will become thick. Remove from heat and let cool while you make the dough.

Heat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, mix all the dry ingredients. Cut the margarine into chunks and drop into the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, work the margarine into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly dough once all the margarine is mixed in.

Press 1/2 the dough into a greased 9x13 pan. You want to press this dough together as much as possible so that it's like a big flat cookie. Spread the rhubarb mixture on this layer. Crumble the rest of the dough on top to cover the rhubarb. No need to press this down.

Bake for 40 minutes and then let cool completely before cutting.


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