Recipe Rhubarb with Earl Grey tea, cardamom, and orange zest

Sweet cool cream on warm chunks of rhubarb and apple infused with Earl Grey tea, cardamom, and orange...mmm. This recipe came after experimenting with several variations on this theme. I've decreased and increased the sweetness. Dark brown sugar was substituted for white and then white for dark. Vanilla was added and then subtracted. I tried a version with star anise and one with juniper berries before settling on Earl Grey tea, cardamom, and orange zest. This is, without a doubt, my favorite so far.

INGRÉDIENTS

• 3 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb (1-inch pieces), from about 6 long, thin ribs (just under 1 lb)
• 3 cups coarsely chopped Braeburn apples (1-inch pieces), from 2 peeled apples
• Juice of 1 small Meyer lemon
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar
• Seeds from 1 green cardamom pod, pounded well with a mortar and pestle
• 2 Earl Grey tea bags steeped in 3/4 cup boiling water for 3 minutes then cooled
• Zest of 2 Valencia oranges
• Vanilla ice cream (!)

PRÉPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the chopped rhubarb and apple in a medium casserole dish or ovenproof casserole.
3. Add the remaining ingredients (saving the zest of one orange and the vanilla ice cream for later) and mix gently.
4. I recommend tasting one piece of apple and one piece of rhubarb at this point. They will both be well coated in sugar and crisp.
5. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Stir and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. The fruit should be tender and the smell should be even better than when you first opened the oven.

And… that's it. It's done. It's that simple, don't you think? I let it cool slightly (5 to 10 minutes), poured a small amount into a bowl, and topped it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. I ate the rhubarb while the ice cream melted. Superb! My husband had fallen asleep by this point (my attempts were a bit delayed), but I woke him up and gave him a bite. He enjoyed it too. He even kept his eyes open to taste a few more times. I drifted off, satisfied.