ONLINE EXTRA — RHUBARB RECIPES: Almond Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce . . . Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce . . . Lower-Sugar Rhubarb Cobbler, etc.

Almond Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

1 cup butter, at room temperature

7 ounces almond paste (see note)

2 cups sugar

6 eggs, separated

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon almond extract

Powdered sugar

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and almond paste thoroughly. Add sugar slowly and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder thoroughly.

In a cup or small bowl, combine milk and almond extract.

Add one-third of flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir gently but thoroughly; add one-third of milk mixture and stir gently but thoroughly. Continue to add flour mixture and milk alternately until all has been incorporated into the batter.

Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gently fold into batter thoroughly.

Spoon into well-greased, 10-cup tube pan (an angel food cake pan or Bundt pan) or in 2 loaf pans. Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes (slightly less for loaf pans), or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Loosen cake gently around rim and tube. Cool completely before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce.

Yield: 1 tube cake (serves 20).

Note: Almond paste comes in a tube, in the baking section of supermarkets. It’s not critical to the recipe and can be omitted, but it will add an extra layer of almond flavor (if you don’t use it, lessen the milk by 2 tablespoons). The cake can be made up to a day in advance, or longer if frozen.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 267 calories, 13 grams fat (7 grams satu-rated), 195 milligrams sodium, 33 grams carbohydrates, 60 milligrams calcium, 4 grams pro-tein, 88 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce

2 cups (1 pint) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

¼ cup sugar

2 cups chopped (¼-inch pieces) rhubarb (2 large stalks), fresh or frozen

Juice and zest from 1 orange (about ¼ cup orange juice and

1 tablespoon orange zest

In a medium bowl, toss sliced strawberries with sugar; set aside. In a medium pot, combine rhubarb and orange juice and, over low heat, bring to a simmer. Cook rhubarb until barely soft, about 5 minutes — do not overcook or the color turns gray. (Or cook in a microwave.) Set aside to cool slightly. Add cooled rhubarb to strawberries and toss with orange zest. Serve over cake or ice cream.

Yield: About 2 cups.

Note: Make this the same day it is served for the best color and texture. Zest is the colored part of the skin on citrus fruit (not the white pith, which is bitter). Don’t like rhubarb? Just use strawberries.

Lower-Sugar Rhubarb Cobbler

1½ pounds rhubarb, trimmed, cut into ½-inch pieces

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter, softened

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup water plus ¼ cup boiling water

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place rhubarb in an 8-inch-square baking dish; sprinkle with the baking soda. Set aside.

Combine the flour, ¼ cup of the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the butter, baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the ½ cup water until mixture is crumbly; set aside. Combine the remaining ½ cup of the sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon of the butter in a small bowl; mix until crumbly. Set aside.

Pour the boiling water over rhubarb. Top evenly with the flour mixture. Sprinkle with the sugar-butter mixture. Bake until bubbly and beginning to brown, 35 to 45 minutes.

Yield: Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 207 calories, 12 percent of calories from fat, 3 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 7 milligrams cholesterol, 44 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 345 milligrams sodium, 2 grams fiber.

Sour Cream-Rhubarb Coffeecake

Nonstick cooking spray

TOPPING:

½ cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

½ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts

1/3 cup flaked coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

BATTER:

1½ cups packed brown sugar

½ cup solid shortening

1 egg

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1½ cups rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-by-12-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

To prepare topping: Combine granulated sugar, melted butter, macadamia nuts, coconut and cinnamon with clean fingers until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

To prepare batter: In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and shortening together until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add dry mix-ture alternately with sour cream to sugar mixture, beating 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat about 10 seconds to blend. Stir in the rhubarb.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle topping evenly over the bat-ter. Bake on center oven rack about 45 to 50 minutes. Test in the center of the cake with a toothpick. It -it should have just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool completely before cutting.

Yield: Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 405 calories, 4 grams protein, 20 grams fat (7 grams saturated), 54 grams carbohydrates, 249 milligrams sodium, 31 milligrams cholesterol.

Rhubarb-Coconut Glories

Nonstick cooking spray

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided

1¼ cups sugar, divided

½ cup butter

2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup finely diced rhubarb

½ cup shredded coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

For a crust, mix together 1 cup flour and ¼ cup sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Mix well with fingers. Press into bottom of a greased 8-inch square pan. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Mix 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons flour. Stir in beaten eggs then mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, rhubarb, coconut and vanilla. Pour this mixture over hot baked crust. Return to oven for 30 minutes. Cool in pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Yield: 16 pieces.

Approximate nutritional analysis per piece: 168 calories, 2 grams protein, 7 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 25 grams carbohydrates, 54 milligrams sodium, 42 milligrams cholesterol.

Pan-Roasted Salmon with Rhubarb-Currant Au Jus

SAUCE:

2 stalks rhubarb, about 4 ounces

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1½ tablespoons minced shallots

¼ cup red currant jelly

2 tablespoons water

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

SALMON:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound salmon fillet

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon green pistachio nuts, minced

To prepare the sauce: Pull the strings from the rhubarb and cut into a ¼-inch dice; meas-ure ¾ cup. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots, and saute 2 minutes. Then add rhubarb, jelly and water, stirring to melt. Simmer 1½ minutes. (Some of the rhubarb will break down, but the sauce will still be slightly chunky.) Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper. Set aside while cooking salmon.

To prepare the salmon: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and heat. Put salmon into pan skin-side up and brown about 2 min-utes or until fish can be turned easily. Turn and place on center oven rack. Bake a total of 12 minutes per inch of thickness or until the fish tests done in the thickest part.

Briefly reheat sauce just to warm on medium-low heat. Spoon sauce over the salmon and sprinkle with finely chopped pistachio nuts. (Serve with roasted asparagus and steamed rice.)

Yield: Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 323 calories, 24 grams protein, 18 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 16 grams carbohydrates, 300 milligrams sodium, 67 milligrams choles-terol.

Crustless Rhubarb Pie

3½ cups rhubarb, diced

1½ cups sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca

3 eggs

½ cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract (not grain-based)

Combine rhubarb, sugar and tapioca. Set aside. Combine eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat to-gether. Pour egg mixture over rhubarb mixture. Blend well. Pour into a 9-inch pie pan (glass pie pan preferred) that has been lightly buttered with unsalted butter. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 25 more minutes. (If edge of the pie starts to brown, cover edges with foil).

Top with homemade whipping cream and/or sliced strawberries or leave plain.

Yield: Serves 8.

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