RCP: Rhubarb Epiphany and Crumble Pie

[Jenise]

Last night new friends Charles and Rita had us over for dinner--a great evening of good food, wine and lots of laughs.

For dessert, Rita made a Rhubarb pie. Have to admit, it was quite pretty but still I dreaded it because I've had a few rhubarb pies in my life and none of them have been good--at the very least, they were runny and soggy thus ruining the crust which would have been for me the best part of the pie. I don't like sweets enough to forgive a badly made anything just because it contains sugar.

So I wasn't exactly looking forward to this pie, and I actually felt a pang of fear when I saw the empty pie plate going to the sink meaning that she'd given each of us a full 1/6 serving. Most took ice cream and a strawberry sauce on theirs, I passed.

Well, the number of times in my life I've cleaned my dessert plate are very very few, but I cleaned my plate last night. I LOVED THIS PIE: a simple, honest preparation of standard pie shell filled with tangy chunks of rhubarb topped with the most perfectly spiced crumble topping.

Fortunately, Rita shared her recipe.

RITA'S RHUBARB CRUMBLE PIE

Use your favorite pie crust recipe to make a bottom shell. Her recipe does not include a pre-bake step, though I'd be tempted to dock and bake it for 10-15 minutes prior to filling as I do for all wet pie fillings.

Rhubarb Filling:

1.5 lbs rhubarb stalks
1/3 c water
3 tblsp AP flour
3/4 c sugar

Topping:

1/4 c butter, room temp
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c AP flour
1/3 c old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Trim and rinse the rhubarb stalks, slicing lengthwise in half. Cut the halves into 1 inch lengths. Combine sliced rhubarb and water in saucepan; blend sugar and flour and add. Stir well and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to med-low. Simmer for about five minutes or until just tender. Spoon filling into the prepared pie shell.

With your fingers blend the topping ingredients in a bowl until crumbly. Sprinkle over the pie. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges of the pie are golden brown and filling bubbly.

I don't like sweets enough...I LOVED THIS PIE...3/4 c sugar...

I love sweets and this sounds like a lot of sugar even for me.

Of course I tend to think people overstate the need to sweeten rhubarb, but maybe it's because my rhubarb tastes have been skewed.

During rhubarb season we constantly have a rhubarb compote in the refrigerator for breakfasts with yogurt. My wife's family grew rhubarb in the garden when she was a child, so she can't get enough of it. And she usually makes the compote with just a touch of sugar and a touch of jam. No real measurements of course, but nothing like 3/4 of a cup for a standard pie plate. And it's always plenty delicious to me.

But hey, I'm sure I would have loved this pie as well!

[Jenise]

Having not worked with rhubarb in a pie personally, Rahsaan, I have no feel for if that's a little or a lot. But I typically only put 1/2 cup in an apple pie myself--not one to go big in that department. However, if Rita followed this recipe exactly, it sure didn't taste like a lot of sugar. I wouldn't change a thing about what she made last night.

Musta been an itsy-bitsy 8 inch pie. I was going to ask if it was 8, 9, 10 or 12". Mom had to cook for 7 kids and there are a LOT of big pie plates that have survived.

Looks good, but the way I make such a pie is just to stir up the rhubarb and sugar and spice (I often use a bit of brown sugar instead of the same amount of white sugar) and dump it in the bottom shell. I go about half and half whether it's a crumble top or a top crust. I'm too lazy to make a lattice top (so was Mom), but that would be pretty.

Use nice bright red firm rhubarb and don't shirk the flour.

I love stewed rhubarb for breakfast, and if it's good rhubarb, it will gel even before you add sugar. I usually stew it the night before and add sugar as needed when I reheat it in the morning. In a pan, not a zapper.

John

I wonder why a bottom crust at all ? If not, does that make it an official crisp ? I'm such a terrible crust maker I'm going to do this sans bottom as I have some very nice rhubarb wanting a use.
A long while back someone ? Jenise wondered about a good crisp topping recipe. This must be one.

The bottom crust makes the dish easier to serve. And yes, if you omit the bottom crust, you have a crisp. Usually the crisp will come out a bit goopier than a pie, for the same filling, because the crust does absorb some moisture.

My "secret" for a crust is to work quickly and be sort of slap-dash. Don't cut the shortening too finely, sprinkle in the water and stir it up quickly (use your hands just like a kid!) and roll it out with the fewest possible strokes.

John

[Jenise]

I wonder why a bottom crust at all ? If not, does that make it an official crisp ? I'm such a terrible crust maker I'm going to do this sans bottom as I have some very nice rhubarb wanting a use.
A long while back someone ? Jenise wondered about a good crisp topping recipe. This must be one.

This is the best crisp topping I've ever had, actually. Just the right amount of cinnamon and a good oat-y taste. To my tastes, perfection.

BTW, on the subject of the sugar, I can only surmise that either Rashaan is more acid-tolerant than most people (completely possible) or that "touch" of sugar and jam works out to proportionally more than he thinks. As with wine, fruit pie is all about acid/sugar balance. A nine inch apple pie takes a 1/2 cup or so of sugar, peach might take up to 3/4 cup (depending on the peaches), rhubarb is so acidic that 1 1/4 or even 1 1/2 cups is not unusual to see in recipes. This recipe has 1 1/4 cups split between filling and topping, which probably gives a nice contrast between topping and less-sweet-than-usual filling. I suspect without the topping, that filling would leave most people looking for the vanilla ice cream, which IMHO is a good thing with rhubarb pie in general

What the heck, vanilla ice cream is a good thing in general, in general!

John

BTW, on the subject of the sugar, I can only surmise that either Rashaan is more acid-tolerant than most people (completely possible) or that "touch" of sugar and jam works out to proportionally more than he thinks...rhubarb is so acidic...

Well given my tastes in wine, I am definitely acid-tolerant with food.

But I also love sweet things and am not afraid of sugar, within limits. I think we all can agree that most mass market sweets in the US use sugar beyond the point of sensible taste.

Anyway, I get your point and will try to make a better note of exactly how much sugar my wife is using next time! Although I will admit that we are going for a 'refreshing' and slightly-acidic compote, which in my view is a great way to show off rhubarb, although maybe not in pies.

BTW, on the subject of the sugar, I can only surmise that either Rashaan is more acid-tolerant than most people (completely possible)

I don't sprinkle sugar on a apple when I eat it raw so why should I add sugar when I cook a apple in a pie?

I don't add sugar when I cook rhubarb crumble , for me there's enough in the crumble on top and in the accompanying ice cream (not to mention the dessert wine

Personal taste: I don't sweeten tea/coffee or drink carbonated drinks.

I don't sweeten tea or coffee, either, but a bit of sugar in pie is good.

[Jenise]

Personal taste: I don't sweeten tea/coffee or drink carbonated drinks.

Nor do I. I basically have no sweet tooth whatsoever. But I wouldn't change a hair on the pie that Rita made. It wasn't sweet so much as it was perfectly balanced, and balance is all I care about.