I don’t remember ever eating a rhubarb dessert in my life. But the idea was always intriging…A celery like vegetable with a tart taste often paired with sweet fruit like strawberry. A few years ago I purchased a plant as a novelty. I grow it in a large pot since I have limited ground area. Our rhubarb plant finally got large enough to harvest and make a pie.
The following recipe is from the seriouseats.com website.
Definitely follow their Easy Pie Dough recipe.
Warning: Do not eat the leaves ever! The leaves and roots contain high levels of oxalic acid that can cause kidney failure. What is a deadly dose? Eating 10 pounds of rhubarb leaves could kill a 140 lb person. Rhubarb stems contain much less oxalic acid than the leaves, and little or no anthraquinone. So, they are safe to eat in reasonable quantities.
Ingredients
One recipe Easy Pie Dough, one half shaped and chilled in a pie plate, the other rolled out flat and chilled (see note)
1 pound fresh strawberries
3 cups fresh rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar (or less/more to taste), divided
4 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
egg wash (1 egg beaten with a big pinch of kosher salt)
turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Core and quarter strawberries. Chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Toss strawberries and rhubarb together with 1/4 cup of sugar, and allow them to macerate (the sugar will begin to break down the fruit, releasing some liquid) for 20 minutes.
- Whisk together remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch or tapioca starch.
- Drain off excess liquid from the strawberry mixture using a china cap or strainer.
- Add the sugar mixture to fruit mixture. Stir well until all of the starch has dissolved.
- Pour filling into prepared, chilled dough shaped in a pie plate.
- Place the chilled, rolled top crust over the filling. Trim the edges and crimp as desired. Cut slits or patterns in the top with a sharp pairing knife. Chill for 20 minutes before baking.
- Apply egg wash to the top of the pie and, if you’d like, sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Place chilled pie into a 425° F oven. Rotate the pie once after 15 minutes, then again after 30. If top or edges are browning too quickly, place aluminum foil over effected area. Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and filling is bubbling in the center.
- Allow pie to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
