Homemade Rhubarb Pie

It has been half a year since I blogged anything.  My brain is rusty and words just would not come out of my brain like a string of shiny pearls.  Life just simply caught up with me, and I was left with no time nor the energy to write about food.  I didn’t even look for new recipes to try or to save for later.  Can you believe that?

Recently though, my interests in cooking and baking are coming back.  So, with this renewed burst of energy and interest, my blogging brain started to wake itself up.  To tell you the truth, it was somewhat awakened a few weeks ago, but not until now did I actually sit down and let my fingers punch on the keyboard.

So without further ado, let’s talk about Rhubarb.  I have never seen rhubarb with my own eyes until a few weeks ago.  I was at my grocery store’s produce section when I saw these long, purplish stalks.  My brain clicked and the word “Rhubarb” popped out.  Until then, I only heard of rhubarb and its tartness, so tart that you would pucker your mouth up when you eat it.

So what is rhubarb?  Rhubarb is a vegetable that only the stalks and roots can be consumed.  The leaves contain oxalic acid in such a high level that they are poisonous, although, you would have to consume 5 kg of the leaves to reach a lethal dose.   Rhubarb originated in China, where it was used for medicinal purposes and it made its way toward the Europe and later to America.  You can read some of the interesting history in this site and this site.  However, I have yet to find a source that tells the story of the transformation of rhubarb from medicinal usage to the dessert table.  It was noted that the first recorded recipe of rhubarb was written by Maria Eliza Rundell, in early 1800s.  So, if these little tidbits interest you, feel free to look for more information online.

Since I have never seen any grocery store or bakery that sells rhubarb pie, I was left to my own devices.  If I wanted to know the taste of rhubarb, I had to make my own pie.

 

So last weekend, I went home with two stalks of rhubarb. Each of the stalks weighed half a pound, which equaled to about 4 cups chopped rhubarb.

See how these stalks look like celery stalks, except its color?

Note that the inside of the stalks is not all colored purple.

The ingredients for rhubarb pie cannot be any simpler. Sugar, all-purpose flour, butter, and rhubarb, and pie crust.

First I mixed the flour into the sugar.

Mixed them well…

Then poured about ¼ of the sugar mixture into the pastry shell.

Then the chopped-up rhubarb was dumped on top of the sugar mixture.

Covered the rhubarb with the rest of the sugar mixture…

Dolloped on the butter…

And covered it all with the pastry shell…

Since the baking time for this pie was quite awhile, I covered the edges of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent it from over-browning.

After it came out of the oven….

Topped it off with whipped cream…

 

It was very good.  It was very tart, complemented by the sweetness of the whipped cream and I got hooked!  Even though I puckered up every time I took a bite, I just could not stop!  The pie tasted  even better the next day, with the tartness slightly mellowed down a bit.  So, since this is sooo easy to make, you have to give it a try!   Until my next pie! 

Print recipe here.

Homemade Rhubarb Pie
Recipe courtesy: Carol

Ingredients:
4 cups or 1 pound of chopped rhubarb
1 1/3 cups of sugar
6 tbs all-purpose flour
1 tbs butter
2 Pastry shell

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450F.
Mix the flour and sugar together. Pour ¼ of the mixture into the pastry shell.
Pour rhubarb on top of the sugar mixture, and add the rest of the sugar mixture on top.
Dot butter on top of the pie
Cover with the other pastry shell.
Bake at the lowest rack of the oven for 15 minutes, and then turn down the temperature to 350F, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.