Poached rhubarb with pannacotta

Here's something for the weekend, as well as something for the rhubarb season. I'm always looking for new ways to use rhubarb, lovely as the pie is there is a limit as to how much I want to eat it. It's always good to have rhubarb with dairy products, as it contains oxalic acid which will use calcium from your bones if it doesn't get it from somewhere else.

This combination originates from Nigel Slater's Tender Vol. 2, and as before, had me jumping of joy. I did tweak it a bit, the pannacotta -recipe I've simplified as much as possible, and it still is lovely, and the poached rhubarb has orange juice, as I find the whole oranges bitter when roasted. But here goes:

For 4 people

vanilla pannacotta:

4 dl cream
1,5 milk
0,5 dl sugar
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 gelatin leaves

Soak the gelatin leaves for 5 minutes in cold water. Bring cream, milk and sugar to boil in a saucepan. Squeeze the water from the gelatin leaves, add to cream, stir well and leave to cool.

Pour the cooled pannacotta mixture into small bowls. If you are worried about gelatin lumps, you can always sieve the mixture into bowls. Leave to set in the fridge for 4-5 hours or overnight.

Poached rhubarb:

a big portion, but you can have the extra later with some natural yogurt or vanilla ice-cream

500g rhubarb
4 tbsp honey
cinnamon stick
2 star anise
0,5 dl orange juice

Trim and peel the rhubarb, cut into short lengths. Put into a baking dish with rest of the ingredients. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or so in 160 C degrees, until the rhubarb is soft.