My dad came up to Brooklyn to visit us a few weeks ago, and to celebrate both his arrival and the arrival of rhubarb season, we made him his favorite pie. Yes, for lovers of apple pie, cherry pie, even cheesecake, this may be an odd choice for a favorite pie, but to my dad, it is ecstasy. I have to say, being someone with a rather weak sweet tooth who would choose salty over sweet nine times out of ten, I am quite a fan of rhubarb pie for its tart punch. If you haven't tried it, it's worth trying once.Or twice.
It's especially nice when balanced with homemade vanilla bean ice cream (but of course I would say that!).
A note to rhubarb novices: most recipes for rhubarb pie are actually for strawberry-rhubarb pie. The same goes for rhubarb jams and preserves. Strawberries offer a nice, sweet balance to the sour tartness of the rhubarb. I also bet that the mixture macerates better (into a gooier mix) when strawberries are involved, but that's just a hunch.
You should also know that rhubarb can be tricky to find and tends to be snatched up quickly because it's only in season in April and May, so get to your farmers market early!
Fortunately, I did that, so ingredients were no problem. On to the baking part...
I chose a recipe from Bon Appetit, though I altered it to be just rhubarb and not strawberries because that's my dad's preference and this one was for him. I used a slightly more complicated recipe for the crust though because I've used it before and I love it, but if you want to go with the simpler recipe, you can find it here (or, you know, use a store-bought crust...I won't tell).
The crust recipe that I used was from Tartine Bakery & Cafe here in NYC. Whatever you do, make sure you keep the ingredients all cold as instructed--it's key!
Georgie proved to be a great helper, as always--here he is adding the sugar on top. All in all, this sur-PIEs made for a great welcome-to-New York treat and a reminder to all of us that spring finally had arrived.
The recipes:
Flaky Pie Crust, from Tartine
(*I partially baked it for this recipe—see steps 5-6 below)
One (10-inch) pie or tart shell/pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold shortening, cut into pieces
1/3 cup water, very cold
Cooking spray
Aluminum foil or parchment paper
Pastry weights or dried beans
1. To make dough by food processor: Put flour and salt in work bowl and process a few seconds. Add butter and shortening and pulse just until coarse crumbs form. Add water and pulse until the dough just begins to hold together.
2. To make dough by hand: Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Scatter butter and shortening over flour. Using a pastry blender or forks, cut fat into flour until the mixture forms large crumbs. Drizzle in water and stir and toss with a fork until the dough begins to come together in a shaggy mass.
3. Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper and shape into a slightly flattened disk. Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
4. To line a 10-inch pie pan, first spray very lightly with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/8-inch thickness; begin rolling from center out toward the edge in all directions. Lift dough and dust surface with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Roll to a circle about 2 inches larger than pan. Carefully transfer dough to pan and ease into bottom and sides, pressing gently. Cut dough so there's about a Ω-inch overhang, fold under and crimp or flute, or simply leave plain for a more contemporary finish. The unbaked shell will keep, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
5. To fully bake pie shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with foil or parchment paper and add pastry weights or dried beans to cover the bottom; don't fill entire shell with weights. Make sure edge of dough is also covered with foil or parchment. Bake shell until the surface looks light brown, about 25 minutes; to check, lift a corner of the paper. Remove from oven and remove paper and weights. Return shell to oven and continue baking until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
6. To partially bake pie shell: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line shell with foil or parchment paper and add pastry weights or dried beans to cover the bottom; don't fill entire shell with weights. Make sure edge of dough is also covered with foil or parchment. Bake on center oven rack 15 minutes. Carefully lift foil and weights out of pan and with a fork, lightly pierce dough that has puffed up. Continue baking 5 to 8 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack completely before filling. (A partially baked shell should be used right away.)
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, from Bon Appétit
3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
2. Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter flass pie dish. Trim excess dough, leaving 3/4-inch overhang.
3. Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut into fourteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Form lattice by placing remaining dough strips in opposite direction atop filling. Trim ends of dough strips even with overhang of bottom crust. Fold strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
4. Brush glaze over crust. transfer pie to baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.
