My rhubarb patch is doing well, and I’ve been baking.
I haven’t yet settled on the perfect rhubarb pie; it’s a task that requires perseverance.
Maybe my ideal pie doesn’t exist– sweet-tart bubbly pink filling encased in a lightly browned flaky crust that looks good and tastes great.
But I think it might.
They all taste good to me, but I am on the hunt for one that has a crisp, not soggy, bottom crust and is juicy but doesn’t flood its banks while baking. Actually, the juices of the second pie that follows do not overflow in the oven.
I’ve been reading about ways to get a nicely-browned, non-soggy bottom crust. Make pie crust using a mixture of shortening and butter, use a pie plate made of metal rather than glass or ceramic, lightly spray or grease the bottom of the pan before putting in the bottom crust, sprinkle a thin layer of bread crumbs on the bottom of the pie plate before putting in the bottom crust, seal the crust by brushing on a thin layer of corn syrup or egg white before adding the fruit so that it won’t absorb juice from the filling as the pie bakes, bake pies on the bottom oven rack (I do this).
I will try some of these in my search for perfection.
With research, experimentation and practice, I’ll figure it out.
Here are two rhubarb pie fillings that I like.
In the first, the pie filling is all sugar-sweetened rhubarb with no added egg or milk. When making it, I added the grated zest of a large naval orange to the mix. It’s not in the original ingredient list, but I like the flavour combination.
I bake this on a parchment–lined baking sheet because it bubbles over. It takes a while for the filling to firm up, too, so let the pie cool before slicing, if possible.
Rhubarb Pie
Adapted from Canadian Home Economics Association: The Laura Secord Canadian Cook Book, McClelland and Steward Limited, Toronto, 1966.
Pastry for a 2-crust 23 cm (9-inch) pie
75 mL (⅓ cup) all-purpose flour
250-375 mL (1 to 1½ cups) granulated sugar
1 L (4 cups) cut rhubarb (2.5 cm/1-inch pieces)
15 mL (1 tbsp) butter
Preheat oven to 220 C (425 F). Roll out half the pastry, line pie plate and trim. Roll out top crust.
Mix the 75 mL of all-purpose flour with the granulated sugar and combine with the cut rhubarb. Turn into the pastry-lined pie plate. Dot with the butter.
Cover with top crust. Seal and flute edges and slit or prick top crust.
Bake in 220 C (425 F) oven for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden. Reduce heat to 180 C (350 F) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes longer or until fruit is tender and bubbly at centre.
In this pie, eggs temper the acidity of the rhubarb in the filling. It, too, contains a hit of orange to complement the rhubarb.
Four-Generation Rhubarb Pie
From Stewart, Anita: Anita Stewart’s Canada: the food, the recipes, the stories, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, 2008.
300 mL (1¼ cups) granulated sugar
60 mL (¼ cup) all-purpose flour
1 mL (¼ tsp) salt
45 mL (3 tbsp) orange juice
grated rind of 1 orange (optional)
60 mL (¼ cup) melted butter
3 eggs, separated
625 mL (2½ cups) diced rhubarb
23 cm (9 inch) deep pie shell
Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F).
In a large bowl, combine 250 mL (1 cup) of the granulated sugar with the flour and the salt. Stir in the orange juice, rind (if using) and the melted butter to make a paste-like consistency.
In a small bowl, gently beat the egg yolks and stir into the orange juice mixture. Add the diced rhubarb and stir to coat thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 60 mL (¼ cup) of sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the rhubarb mixture, taking care to incorporate thoroughly but not to deflate the egg whites.
Pour into the pie shell and bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 190 C (375 F) oven. Reduce heat to 160 C (325 F) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes longer or until golden brown and the centre is set.
Margaret Prouse, a home economist, writes this column for The Guardian every Friday. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
