Though I took a rotten photo, I loved this but it got mixed reviews in the household - Stubbie felt that there was too much mint in the recipe and L. decided that the rhubarb and asparagus combo could be classified under his "I hate mixing sweet with savory" food category and boycotted the dish once he had eaten as much of the Burrata as he could lay his hands on.
I thought it was a lovely, fresh Spring dish; perfect as a dinner appetizer or as a brunch salad. Since I had spent a lot of time trying to plan and cook a nice Easter supper for this family of mine that is no longer truly a family, I also had a few other thoughts about the complaints which I am sure all home cooks can guess at...
1 lb medium asparagus (about 1 bunch)
1 lb rhubarb (about 3-4 stalks)
Zest of 1 organic orange
2 Tbsps chopped mint
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp + 2 tsps olive oil
2 tsps Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 whole ball of Burrata
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 425.
Wash and clean the asparagus. Place on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and some salt and fold the aluminum paper into a package. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. At the end of the 10 minutes, leave the asparagus in the oven but reduce the heat to 325.
While the asparagus is doing its initial roasting, wash and clean the rhubarb and cut each stalk into pieces of the length that you want to serve. Place the rhubarb pieces in one layer in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the rhubarb pieces. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
Place the dish in the now 325 oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven (the asparagus as well) and allow the rhubarb to cool completely before removing the foil top. You should have perfectly cooked rhubarb that still holds its shape, sitting in a pool of pink syrup. My next door neighbor when I lived in London taught me this cooking method and it works every time.
As for your asparagus - it should also be cooked but still retain a little bite. While it is still hot from the oven, place it in a dish and allow it to marinate for about 20 minutes in a sauce made of your remaining olive oil, the mustard and the red wine vinegar.
To assemble: Remove the asparagus from the dressing and place on a platter. Remove the rhubarb from its poaching liquid and add to the serving platter. Top the whole thing with pieces of the Burrata and garnish with orange zest and chopped mint. Add a tablespoon of the rhubarb syrup to the remaining asparagus vinaigrette and drizzle over the top. Sprinkle on a little salt if you feel the dish might need it. Voilà!
Any remaining rhubarb syrup tastes delicious in sparkling water as a mocktail or judiciously added to a vodka tonic for a gorgeously hued spring cocktail.