Rhubarb season is fleeting. According to farmers (and my father-in-law), you shouldn’t harvest rhubarb past St John’s Eve, June 23. By this time the stalks of the plants have built up unpleasant levels of acid.

So during this short time I try to make as many rhubarb based desserts as I can, but if I’m not feeling motivated to make time-consuming geometric patterns to top a tart, I simply cook it down into a compote.

We serve the compote over everything—yogurt, ice cream, french toast, pancakes—or eat it by itself, by the bowlful for dinner. It is a vegetable after all.

The recipe is incredibly easy—just pop everything in a pot and cook it down to compote. I like to flavour it with vanilla, but this isn’t strictly necessary. Ten percent sugar to the weight of rhubarb is the perfect ratio for me, but you can always add more or less according to taste.

600 g rhubarb

60 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste, bean, or extract

Clean and chop the rhubarb, then put it in a large pot over medium heat. Add a spalsh of water (about 125 ml/ half a cup) and sprinkle the sugar over top.

Cook this on medium until the rhubarb breaks down completely, around 15-20 minutes. Take off the heat and taste for sweetness. If you prefer a sweeter compote, or have super tart rhubarb, add some more sugar, a teaspoon at a time.

Cool.

• You probably have more or less than exactly 600 g rhubarb. The easiest way to make this compote is simply to weigh the rhubarb and then add ten percent sugar. If you have 557 g rhubarb, just add 55 g sugar.

• If you are using vanilla bean, scrape about half and add this to the compote, along with the scraped bean. Remove the bean before serving.

• The acid in rhubarb is potent. After eating it you should wait before brushing your teeth, as the acid weakens the enamel, and never store rhubarb in aluminium.