Candied rhubarb, vanilla shortbread & meringue

In this rhubarb dessert, chef Matéo Ravel preserves the rhubarb in an almond cream and accompanies it with vanilla shortbread and geranium Italian meringue.

This recipe from Matéo Ravel, chef at La Table des Matrus in Saint-Étienne, is taken from the 2024 edition ofBook 109: The new blood of French gastronomy. Discover the ingredients and preparation steps to make it a breeze.

Serves 6
Preparation time: 45 min
Cooking time: 1 h 30
Resting time: 2 h

Ingredients for rhubarb confit and vanilla shortbread

For the rhubarb shavings

1 large rhubarb stick
30 g sugar
2 black tea bags

For the shortbread

100 g butter
25 g sugar
25 g vergeoise
50 g fine semolina
130 g flour
1 pinch salt
The seeds of ½ vanilla pod

For the rhubarb confit in almond cream

250 g rhubarb
50 g sugar
50 g soft butter
50 g almond powder
1 egg
1 pinch salt

For the Italian meringue

2 egg whites
120 g sugar
1 drop geranium essential oil

Steps for therhubarb confit and vanilla shortbread

Rhubarb shavings: peel and cut the rhubarb into shavings using a mandolin or knife. Make a syrup with 30 cl water, sugar, peelings and tea, heat gently for 10 min, then strain and leave to cool. Add the pieces to the syrup, which should be lukewarm. Leave to infuse for 2 h.
Shortbread: mix all ingredients with a leaf mixer or by hand. Roll the dough into balls and chill. Once the dough has hardened, cut 0.5 cm pucks from the rolls and bake at 170°C for 15 to 20 min, until lightly colored.
Rhubarb confit in almond cream: peel and dice the rhubarb. Mix the remaining ingredients, then add the rhubarb. Pour into a baking tin lined with parchment paper, then bake at 160°C for 30 to 40 minutes, until the almond cream is cooked and lightly colored.
Italian meringue: boil the sugar with a little water and whisk the egg whites until stiff. Bake the sugar at 130°C, then pour it over the stiffly beaten egg whites while continuing to beat. Add the geranium essential oil and beat until the meringue is firm and tempered. Set aside in a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip.
Arrange a slice of rhubarb in almond cream in the center of the plate. Pipe 3 dots of meringue around the rhubarb and lightly flambé. Rest the shortbread on the meringue, then finish with rhubarb shavings to taste, for more or less freshness and acidity.

Chef's tip:

"You can keep the rhubarb syrup to make iced teas, cocktails or simply as a syrup on a fruit salad. "

More info:

La Table des Matrus, 26 rue du Grand-Gonnet, 42000 Saint-Étienne
12/20 in the Livre des 109
Read Gault&Millau's review of La Table des Matrus

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