SERVING 4

Rhubarb is one of the most common plants in Icelandic vegetable gardens and has been so for a great number of years. As a matter of fact Icelanders made use of rhubarb long before they learned to appreciate other garden vegetables, utilizing it mainly and extensively for jams and different porridges. Here is a different idea, worth trying.

The meringue
2 large egg whites
½ cup / 100 g sugar

Separate the yolks from the egg whites, putting the egg whites in a mixer bowl. Add the sugar and start the mixer, running it at a rather brisk pace. Keep mixing until the mixture in the bowl is firm enough for the bowl to be turned upside-down with the contents staying put in the bowl. Put a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. It is a nice idea to glue the paper to the baking sheet by putting a small dab of the meringue mixture onto the downside of each corner of paper thus sticking it to the baking sheet. Now, using a spoon put nice dabs of the meringue mixture on the parchment paper. The spoon can be used to draw out small, decorative pinnacles on top of the meringue. Put the baking sheet into an oven preheated to 100 degrees centigrade or 212 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the meringue tops for about one hour. Then leave the meringue tops in the oven as it cools for another hour. Finally take the tops out of the oven and let them cool completely.

The rhubarb and strawberry filling
2 cups / 475 ml rhubarb, diced
1 tbs olive oil
¼ cup / 60 ml water
½ cup sugar
1 cup strawberries
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
1 cup / 240 ml heavy cream
½ cup 7 120 ml sour cream

Cut the very down end off the rhubarb stalk and discard it. Then cut the remainder of the stalk into rather small pieces. Also cut off the green leaves at the end of the strawberries and then section them. Pour the olive oil onto a pan and add the rhubarb bits. Cook these for a while and then add the water and also some sugar and cook on for some syrup. When the rhubarb has become tender and the syrup has formed, add the strawberries and cook them for about one minute stirring them in the syrup. Finally empty the contents of the pan onto a plate, spread it out and let it cool. Peel the ginger and scrape it, using a zest grater, onto the rhubarb and strawberry mixture on the plate and stir the ginger in a little. Pour the heavy cream in bowl and whip it thoroughly. Add the sour cream and fold it in with the whipped cream. Finally add the rhubarb and the strawberries to the cream mixture and fold the contents in the bowl thoroughly.

Serving
Put a meringue top on a plate and scoop a nice amount of the rhubarb and strawberry filling on top of the meringue and then put another meringue top upon the cream filling. Finally pour some of the rhubarb syrup over the arrangement. This dessert is most certainly a sweet one, but the sour tinge stemming from the rhubarb gives it freshness that is most pleasant and invigorating