This dish, which I created a good twenty years ago, still makes an occasional appearance on the Waterside Inn menu. The acidity of the rhubarb contrasts perfectly with the egg.
200g (7oz) very tender young rhubarb
100g (½ cup) sugar
2 slices of white bread, 1cm (½in) thick
100g (7 tbsp) clarified butter (see Scrambled eggs ‘magda’ on fried bread)
80g (⅓ cup) butter
8 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp cream
salt and freshly ground pepper
Peel the rhubarb if it is slightly stringy, wash in cold water and drain. Finely dice two-thirds of the rhubarb and cut the rest into small batons or large matchsticks.
Dissolve the sugar in 100 ml (scant ½ cup) water in a pan over a low heat, then bring to the boil. Add the diced rhubarb and cook for 30 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl; keep warm. Bring the syrup back to the boil, add the rhubarb batons and cook for 45 seconds – 1 minute, until just firm. Drain and set aside.
Cut off the crusts from the bread and cut the slices into large cubes. Heat the clarified butter in a frying pan and fry the bread cubes over a medium heat until golden all over. Drain on kitchen paper.
Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add the beaten eggs and scramble. Add the cream at the end of cooking, then the diced rhubarb. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide the scrambled eggs between 4 plates and scatter over the rhubarb batons and the croûtons. Serve immediately.