The pastry is made just like this and with the help of some star-shaped cookie cutters. I know a lot of people are strawberry-rhubarb pie-hards but to me it is just too cliché and sickly sweet. The entire point of rhubarb is its tartness, in my opinion. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I have fond memories of dipping stalks into some sugar and gnawing away. This pie is that memory, grown-up and elevated.
Rhubarb Pie (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
- 2 lbs rhubarb stalks, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths, which should measure 5 cups (no metric for you on this 4th of July)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar + 2 tsp
- 1/4 cup tapioca or cornstarch (I generally use cornstarch but both work great)
- 2 tsp orange zest (optional but highly recommended)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- Milk or cream
Combine rhubarb with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, tapioca or cornstarch, zest and salt in a large bowl and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
It should go from this:
to this:
Spoon this filling into your prepared pie crust (again, see this post) and dot with butter before covering with a basic lattice, or this festive variation. You can even do a double crust with vents if you don't want to bother with the occasional frustration of lattice tops, although I think they are worth it. I'm including some photos of a previous plain-old lattice top rhubarb pie which in my mind also screams 'America', if that's what you're going for. Not such a bad idea to double the recipe as it keeps well and makes a nice breakfast.
Once your lattice or top of choice is affixed, brush with cream or milk and dust with sugar. You can crimp the edges with a fork or more creatively.Bake at 425˚ for 30 minutes, then lower the heat to 350˚ and bake 25-30 more minutes until crust is nicely browned and juices are bubbling. Cool completely on a wire rack.
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