Rhubarb Sauce with Star Anise

The tang of the rhubarb and the slight licorice touch from the star anise make a great sauce for topping just about anything from ice cream to curried potato pancakes. I added frozen strawberries from last year to the finished sauce and used it to top the Gluten-Free Cardamon Applesauce Coffee Cake.
Enjoy!
Jeannine

Chop about 9 stalks of rhubarb into 1 inch pieces and put them in a saucepan that has about ¼ inch of water in the bottom. 

Crush 2 stars of anise and add them to the pan along with ¼ cup sugar and a pinch of salt.  Stir briefly to dissolve the sugar a bit, then cover and put on a medium heat until it simmers, then turn it down to low.

Rhubarb cooks down quickly, so check it every few minutes.  If you like your rhubarb sauce chunky, stop cooking before the pieces loose their shape, otherwise continue cooking and stirring occasionally until the pieces have disappeared.

Keeps well in a jar in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Ingredients
9 Stalks Rhubarb
1/4 cup sugar
2 Star Anise pods
pinch of salt

Optional:
1 cup frozen or 2 cups fresh (mashed) strawberries