A few weeks ago, I was lamenting over not buying some beautiful rhubarb when I had the chance. I really wanted to make an apple rhubarb pie, but ended up with an apple slab pie instead. Still, the rhubarb lingered. I went to a few different markets searching for rhubarb without luck. Until one day, I finally found some…frozen; sometimes though, frozen can be just as good as fresh. I thawed out the rhubarb, and drained it as much as I could. The chopped pieces were a little thicker than I wanted, but it was too difficult to cut them in half, so I just hoped that the thicker chunks would be OK.
Omg, what an interesting pie this was. The frozen rhubarb was a bit on the green side, so the pie came out looking gray. Though not very appealing, I did think that my crust work on top helped with the appearance, as I used circle cutters for the pattern just for fun. The filling jelled nicely, and the flavor was good. I was surprised, as I had no idea how it would taste. The rhubarb seemed to compliment the tartness of the granny smith apples. I’m so glad that I tried this, and would like to make it again. Maybe in galette form.
apple rhubarb pie
for the crust:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces
- ¼ to ½ cup ice water
for the filling:
- 3-4 granny smith apples (or your favorite, peeled and sliced to ¼ in thick)
- 1 ½ cup thinly sliced rhubarb
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ¼ – ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
make the filling:
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In a large bowl combine apples, rhubarb, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside while you make the crust.
make the crust:
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In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour.
assemble the pie:
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Preheat the oven to 375°. Roll the one dough ball out on a lightly floured surface into a 12″ round, then fit into a 9″ pie plate. Add the apple rhubarb filling and sprinkle the butter on top. Roll the remaining dough ball out on the lightly floured surface into a 10″ round and lay on top of the filling. Cut off any excess with knife. Crimp the edges decoratively, and cut a few slits in the top of the pie. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until bubble appear through the slits in the crust. Let cool before slicing.
