Rhubarb Pie... who woulda thunk it?

Yeah.. so coming from parents who should have passed this down to me... I'm really surprised I didn't know about rhubarb until I started working at a bakery. Even then, I'd never tried it until 3 years later. Apparently my great grandmother used to make rhubarb jam. Mom! Where is this recipe!? Anyway, I discovered this veggie last spring when Brandon mentioned an interest in a rhubarb pie. Of course, when Brandon mentions an interest in something dessert-like, I'm researching how to make it the next day! I'm crazy like that. So I came across a recipe online that had 5 stars from 150 reviews. How could I go wrong?? And let me tell you - I didn't! Yes. I'm vain. Ok - So the big thing is the crust. VERY IMPORTANT not to screw up the crust! Unfortunately I haven't copied down my mom's recipe, so instead I researched a few recipes and kinda came up with my own version (ya know, so i could make it my own). The important thing is to work with very cold ingredients, do not overmix, and do not add too much water!!! So here is my crust recipe.

Pie Crust
makes 3-4 crusts.

Ingredients:

• 3c flour
• 1/2t salt
• 1c shortening
• 2T butter (for flavor)
• 6T ice cold water

Directions:

1. Make sure your shortening and butter are very cold! This is important so that the crust is flakier and its easier to cut into the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the shortening & butter and cut into the dry ingredients. You'll want the pieces to be somewhat similar in size to peas.. don't work this too much, you want chunks of fat still intact, this is what helps create the flaky tender crust during the baking process.
2. Using a fork, start to sprinkle in the water, a few tablespoons at a time, and combine with the fork. Again, do not overmix during this process or the dough will become tough! You want the dough to just start to come together.
   
3. Divide the dough up into 3 -4 balls, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Again, its important to have the dough cold so the crust will be nice and tender.

Ok. So this is a basic pie dough recipe. Again, it works for me, but you can use any recipe you have around. Really doesn't matter. Just please please pleeaasseeee do not overwork it. I can't tell you how often I see people kneading this dough and it breaks my heart every single time!
So on to the Rhubarb Pie recipe!!


Rhubarb Pie
makes 1 9" pie

Ingredients:

• 4C Rhubarb (roughly 6-7 stalks)
• 1 1/3c sugar
• 6T all purpose flour
• 1/4t fresh grated nutmeg
• 1T butter
• 1 egg white
  
• pastry for 9" double crust pie

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Combine sugar and flour and nutmeg. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust. Make sure to cut vents into the top crust!!
   
3. Combine egg white with about 1T of water. Beat with a fork and then brush over top of crust. Sprinkle granlated or raw sugar over the crust. (this creates a fabulous sweet crunch on the top!)
   
4. Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. You'll start to notice the syrup bubbling up through the vents in the top of the pie crust. Serve warm or cold. Keep in mind that a pie needs to rest for at least 2 hours before you cut into it, though. Otherwise the filling won't properly set up.
   

So I hope you find time to make this one day. It sounds weird, using a veggie as the star ingredient in a dessert.. And if you taste rhubarb raw, you'll also think its weird. It is very tart! But I promise you, it will remind you more of a tart berry pie like blackberry or raspberry. It has a gorgeous red color as well. Serve it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you'll want to make this treat every spring! You can also swap out some of the rhubarb for strawberries if you desire. A lot of recipes combine the two.. maybe 2 cups of slices strawberries and 2 cups of rhubarb. Just bear in mind that when you cook strawberries, they loose their pretty red color and look almost grey. But they still taste good!

Submitted by lauren.