This isn’t the first time I’ve written about rhubarb – and with good reason. It’s surely one of the most unique ingredients of the culinary calendar and in my opinion, one of the most spectacular.

Rhubarb first appears in late January, lighting up our veg deliveries throughout the otherwise stark, baron winter months. By April, the indoor “forced” variety begins to fade out and is replaced by the outdoor field variety through to early summer.

I suppose it’s fair to say I’ve become something of a rhubarb obsessive over the years, awaiting the arrival of those striking, hot-pink stems like a streetwear obsessive yearns for news of the next Palace drop. At my London restaurant, Salon, it has become a habit of mine to create intricately designed pies, decorated with rhubarb stalks trimmed to size using a template. Reading this, you’d be forgiven for thinking I have too much time on my hands…

It’s not just rhubarb’s exceptional appearance that excites me, however. Yes, I’m drawn to the elegant aesthetic, but the way it’s produced is fascinating, too. A huge quantity of the world’s forced rhubarb is grown in vast, aircraft hangar-like sheds in a patch of land just south of Leeds, famously known as the Rhubarb Triangle. Traditionally, the crops are grown by candlelight to starve them of sunlight and amplify their bright pink hue. Legend has it they grow with such vigour, you can actually hear the plants creak as they stretch skyward in search of non-existent light.

Here, I’ve created a recipe that accentuates rhubarb’s slender, geometric qualities. There are a few stages to the process, but the results are incredibly satisfying and well worth the effort. You’ll need a 25cm loose-bottomed tart case.

For the pastry:

• 250g plain flour
• 125g butter
• 60g caster sugar
• A pinch salt
• 1 egg
• A teaspoonful very cold water
• 1 egg yolk

For the frangipan:

• 150g butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g ground almonds
• 3 eggs
• A dash vanilla essence

For the rhubarb:

• 1kg rhubarb
• 200g caster sugar
• Two spoonfuls of blood orange (or Seville orange) marmalade

First, make the pastry. Using a food processor, pulse together the flour, butter, sugar and salt to form a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg and pulse again, then the water. Transfer to a bowl and bring together in your hands to form a dough ball. Wrap in clingfilm, press down to form a hockey puck shape, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour (it freezes well, too, and can be kept for a month or so). Grease the tart case with a little butter Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out into 30cm diameter disc. Lay the pastry over the tart case and push down into the corners. Chill in the fridge for another hour.

Next, make the frangipan. Using a food processor, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the ground almonds and eggs one by one alternately. Finally add the vanilla essence. Set aside until needed.

Next, prepare the rhubarb. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cut the stems in half lengthways, then toss in the sugar. Leave to macerate for 20 minutes or so. Place in a baking tray, cover loosely with baking paper, then bake for 10 minutes. They should be soft but not falling apart. Allow to cool while covered by the paper.

Now, blind-bake the pastry. Place a piece of baking paper over the pastry case and fill the tart with raw rice, dried beans or ceramic baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and baking beans, and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Glaze the pastry with the egg yolk using a pastry brush.

Once cool, fill the tart case with the frangipan and bake again for a further 20 minutes or until the frangipan is springy and cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, and spread the top of the frangipan with marmalade.

Finally, decorate the tart. Lay the strips of cooked rhubarb over the top of the fragipan and trim to seize so the fit the shape of the pie exactly to form a circle made up of strips of rhubarb. Reduce any liquids from the rhubarb down to a thick syrup and glaze the tops of the rhubarb with it using a pastry brush.

Serve with crème fraiche on the side.