Rhubarb pie

Rhubarb season is here and we are lucky to have access to a lot of it through our family's gardens. 

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I wanted to make a plain old-fashioned rhubarb pie. Not one with strawberries - just rhubarb. I do like the strawberry-rhubarb combination, but strawberries aren't ready yet around here.  

I was pretty generous on the sugar in this one, but if you are used to very sweet desserts, you may want to increase it another 1/4 cup or so. It will also depend on how pungent your rhubarb is. Ours was on the sour side.... my first bite made me regret not adding more sugar, but my second and third did not. I thought it was quite perfect and really made the rhubarb flavor itself shine, rather than try to cover it with sweetness. 

Plus, it allowed me to add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream without having a sugar overload and it brought the whole dish to a perfect level of sweetness for me. My rhubarb was also very juicy and fresh, so the pie was a bit on the runny side, but that's OK with me.

Rhubarb pie
for the crust:
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup ice water
1 egg
2 teaspoons coarse sugar  

for the filling: 
7 cups sliced rhubarb (about 1/2-inch pieces)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup unbleached granulated cane sugar
pinch of sea salt
1 heaped tablespoon cornstarch

Mix the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Then stir in the olive oil and water until combined. Form into a ball and cut in half (making one half slightly larger than the other). Roll out the larger half onto a lightly floured surface until it will fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Shape it into the pie plate, removing/folding over any overhang. Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut it into strips (about eight) that are about 1/2-3/4 inch wide. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the rhubarb, lemon juice, sugars, salt and cornstarch in a large bowl. Pour the filling into the pie dish.

Top the filling with the strips of pie dough, weaving them to make a lattice pattern. Pull off any extra dough and pinch the ends into the pie crust. 

Lightly beat the egg with a couple teaspoons of water. Brush the egg onto the pie dough strips. Top them with the coarse sugar.

Bake for about 55-60 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden. Let cool before serving. Serve as is or topped with a bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.