Recipes Cooking

My rhubarb has gotten quite tough, thanks to the very high temperatures and lack of rain we have already had this spring. However, it is still suitable for this use.

Lemon balm is another plant left in the garden by the previous owners of our house. Its a mint relative, and as such is very easy to grow. On the other hand you rarely find it for sale, so if you cant find it replace it with a couple of herbal lemon teabags.

I used 1/4 cup of honey and thought it was sufficient, but it basically balanced out the sour rhubarb and did not make the punch noticeably sweet - you may wish to use a bit more.

Makes 2 litres (quarts)
6 to 24 hours and - 10 minutes prep time


500 grams (1 pound) rhubarb stalks
4 cups water
2 cups loosely packed lemon balm
4 cups boiling water
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey

Wash and trim the rhubarb, and cut it into chunks. Put it in a large pot with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until very soft. Let cool.

Meanwhile, bring the remaining 4 cups of water to a boil. Pour it over the lemon balm and cover. Let steep until cool. Remove and discard the lemon balm.

Strain the rhubarb very thoroughly, keeping the liquid and discarding the solids. Add the rhubarb extract to the lemon balm tea. Remove one cup of the punch, and mix it with the honey. Heat until the honey is dissolved, then stir it back into the punch. Chill until it is time to serve it.




Last year at this time I made Asparagus & Feta Tart.