Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote With Fennel Recipe (2024)

Dairy-free Desserts
Gluten-free Desserts
Vegan Desserts
Stovetop Fruit
Strawberry

This classic springtime combination, spiked with the anise flavor of fennel seed, is incredibly versatile: Just add more or less sugar to suit your taste.

Daniel Gritzer

Senior Culinary Director

Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated May 12, 2023

WRITE A REVIEW

Why It Works

Cooking the rhubarb first allows it to fully soften and break down, creating a thick sauce.
Fennel seed adds an intriguing sweet-savory note that works well in all applications.

The classic springtime combination of strawberries and rhubarb is perfect for people like me who don't have a huge sweet tooth. It's also perfect for people who do. Rhubarb—technically a vegetable, but used more often in fruit contexts, like pie fillings—is purely tart, with almost no trace of sweetness. Strawberries help push it more decisively into ripe-fruit territory, but you still need extra sugar to balance rhubarb's intense sourness. And that's what's so great about it: Add as much or as little sugar as you like to suit your taste.

One of my favorite ways to prepare strawberries and rhubarb is stewed into a compote. It's fast, versatile, and totally customizable. I make mine just sweet enough that I can serve it as a dessert, but not so sweet that it'd seem junky to eat it as breakfast, too. In both cases, that often means spooned on top of a bowl of yogurt, but it'd be just as happy alongside fresh ricotta or mascarpone,panna cotta, cake, waffles, pancakes, crepes, scones, toast, or, if you're feeling extra British, crumpets.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote With Fennel Recipe (3)

For an interesting flavor twist, I add a small amount of ground fennel seed, which is just as successful at carefully walking the sweet-savory razor's edge—it's not a warm spice like cinnamon or nutmeg, but it still has anise notes that work with all sorts of desserts. Pull back on the sugar just a little more and you could totally eat this with a pork chop.

To start, I dice the rhubarb into chunks, then put it on the heat in a saucepan with a small amount of water, which generates enough steam to get the cooking started. In a preparation like this, I like my rhubarb fully softened and broken down, so I let it cook for a few minutes this way, covered, before adding the strawberries.

Then I add the strawberries, which I cook until they're very soft and plump, adding a burst of brilliant color. I add the fennel and sugar as well, usually spooning in the sugar to taste until I feel like I've hit my desired sweetness—whether that's sweet enough for pork or sweet enough for an ice cream sundae.

June 2016

Recipe Details

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote With Fennel

Active20 mins

Total20 mins

Serves16 servings

Makes1 quart

Ingredients

3/4 pound (350g) rhubarb, diced
10 ounces (300g) strawberries, hulled and quartered
Up to 1/2 cup (100g) sugar (see note)
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed (from about 3/4 teaspoon whole seeds)
Pinch kosher salt

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb with 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower heat to maintain a fast simmer, cover, and cook until rhubarb is fully softened and beginning to break down, about 4 minutes.
Uncover and add strawberries, sugar to taste (see note), fennel, and salt. Continue to cook uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are very soft and plump, about 10 minutes; if compote becomes too thick during cooking, add a small amount of water to thin slightly. Serve hot or cold. Compote will keep for up to 5 days refrigerated in a sealed container.

Notes

Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to taste.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
35	Calories
0g	Fat
9g	Carbs
0g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories	35
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 6mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 9g	3%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 13mg	64%
Calcium 23mg	2%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 93mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.