USED as a fruit but actually a vegetable, it means I nearly always go to the wrong part of the wholesale market to try and get rhubarb. You may have a rhubarb plant and not be convinced that it’s the season yet.

Well, after the recent cold winter, you may be right. But we’ve a tradition in this country of forcing rhubarb; that is, covering it to make it come early. And it’s the resulting pale and interesting stems that can give us one of the first fruity tastes of summer – even though it’s still not a fruit – or summer.

Unless you have a palate for things very tart, it’ll always need at least a little sweetening. Used here in our trifle, that’s done with the sugar and lemonade.

The recipe calls for a homemade custard but, if you were short of time, there’s no reason why you couldn’t use a tin of readymade custard with a little vanilla essence added.

INGREDIENTS

400g rhubarb
140g castor sugar
One vanilla pod
150ml lemonade
550ml double cream
275ml milk
Three leaves of gelatine
Eight egg yolks
One pack of sponge fingers
One trifle bowl

METHOD

Chop the rhubarb into 1 inch pieces, put into a non-aluminium pan with the lemonade and 100g of the castor sugar and cook gently until the rhubarb has broken down.

Meanwhile, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water and, when soft, remove from the water and squeeze out the excess before mixing it into the cooked rhubarb until dissolved.

Cover the base of the trifle bowl with the sponge fingers, breaking them if necessary, and then spoon the rhubarb mixture over the top. Refrigerate for an hour or two until set.

Meanwhile, make the custard by putting half the cream and all the milk into a pan and gently bring to the boil.

While it’s heating, place a pan containing an inch or so of water on to heat to come to a simmer. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Place them into a bowl along with the egg yolks and 30g of the remaining sugar.

Whisk them together a little and, when the cream and milk comes to the boil, pour over the egg yolk mix, whisking all the time.

Place the bowl on top of the pan of simmering water and stir continuously until the custard starts to thicken and coat the back of the spoon.

Remove the bowl from the pan, allow the custard to cool and then spoon over the rhubarb jelly before returning it to the fridge to set.

To serve, whisk the remainder of the cream and sugar until it forms soft peaks and spoon this over the custard. Then maybe sprinkle over some grated chocolate or almonds or both or anything you can think of.

Twitter: @eatoldfields For further recipes, go to www.billoldfield.com Oldfields Pantry ready meals are available direct from the restaurant on Claypath in Durham on 0191 370 9595 or go to www.oldfieldspantry.co.uk for delivery by mail order.