Rhubarb Pie

Do any of you still have rhubarb? I know it's more of a springtime fruit/vegetable, but I also know that once it starts producing you have to quickly find a way to use up all of the pounds that you are harvesting, or watch it wither and die on the plant. I myself have bags of it in my freezer, and I have already made 4 pies, 1 batch of jam, and 4 cakes this year. Rhubarb is a wonderful addition to your garden, as it comes back on it's own every year, so no having to replant each growing season. The stalks look like celery, but they can be used in anything you would put fruit in. My favorite way to eat it (besides just dipping a stalk in sugar and chowing down) is to make pie.

It is an aquired taste, as it is very sour/bitter on it's own, but mixed with a little (ok a lot) of sugar it's quite delightful. My parents always kept rhubarb in their garden, so it makes me a little nostalgic whenever I eat it. 

I have yet to keep a successful garden, so I don't have any rhubarb plants of my own, but I will always take extra stalks that people are trying to get rid of. I was blessed enough to have a lady from church gift me with bags and bags of rhubarb this year. Whatever I don't use right away, I dice it up, and freeze it in 4 cup measurements to use later. 

I brought this pie to a church pot luck and had multiple people ask me for the recipe. I think they assumed I was holding some ingredients back, because this recipe is as easy as it gets. You can replace some of the rhubarb with other fruit if you like (strawberry seems to be a favorite of most people), but I tend to just keep it simple. Rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla. That's it (and some butter if you're feeling fancy). 

I use organic ingredients when possible, but use whatever you have.

Here's the recipe:

Rhubarb Pie

2  9 inch raw pie crusts (one cut into strips if you want a lattice top)

4 to 5 cups diced rhubarb, stalks only (anymore than 5 cups and you might want to add more sugar)

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 Tbsp butter
egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp water)


Preheat the oven to 350F. Place one unbaked pie crust into a pie plate. In a bowl, mix together the rhubarb, sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. Pour the mixture into the crust in the pie plate. Place the other unbaked pie crust on top. (I like to cut it in strips and make a lattice pattern. I show you how to do the lattice top in my peach pie post.) Press the edges of the crusts together all around the pie, and brush the crust with the egg wash and then sprinkle the top with a little sugar. Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet for 50-60 minutes, until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool to room temperature before cutting. 







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