24 May 2010

Rhubarb-Blueberry Pie

I made this pie almost two weeks ago - and it's been keeping well in the fridge, so I'm still thinking about it, and eating it for breakfast! The inspiration was that I have this gigantic rhubarb plant in my yard - it's about the only useful thing that grows there, and it's put up with more abuse and neglect that I can dare to share with you all.  In any case, I can't let a year go by without making something from the rhubarb before I kill it.

Normally, I'd make a rhubarb pie, or maybe even strawberry-rhubarb, but I didn't know how just rhubarb would go with the guys, and Jakobe is allergic to strawberries, so I grabbed the blueberries out of the freezer.  I also used mostly Splenda instead of sugar, and replaced my regular pie crust with this great tart crust I've been using for other things.  (the new crust is amazingly thick, and is also perfectly flaky, so it's a win in my book!)



Rhubarb - Blueberry Pie

For Filling:
3 1/2 cups of 1 inch rhubarb pieces
1 1/2 cups of Frozen Blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup cornstarch
zest of one orange
2 tablespoons butter

For Crust:
2 eggs
1/4 cup ice water
1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice
3 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup cold butter 
1 tablespoon Splenda
1/4-1/2 teaspoon lite salt (adjust for salted/unsalted butter)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.

Crust:
I start with the crust, because it needs to be refrigerated for half an hour before you roll it out.  I combine the dry ingredients in my blender, and then pulse it with the butter. (I don't have a food processor to do all the work - but i can cheat the first part with my blender, If you don't have either you can use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut in the butter)  Pour the mixture into a bowl.  In a measuring cup, combine the Ice water, lemon juice, and eggs in a measuring cup and beat it all together.  Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture slowly, mixing after each 1/4 to 1/3 of liquids until everything just holds together. Mash it all together with your hands, and knead just enough to form a big ball.  Divide into two balls and flatten them into disks.  Put them in plastic bags or wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Filling:
Combine all of the ingredients except the butter in a large bowl.  Let it sit while the crust chills

Combining:  Roll out the bottom crust to fill a 9" pie plate (I didn't use a deep dish plate.)  Add the filling.  Cut up the butter for the filling into small pieces and dot it on top of the fruit.  Roll out the top crust, or you can make a lattice crust if you're feeling ambitious.  Seal the crust by crimping or fluting. ( I fluted, there's a lot of crust.) and cut several vents in the top crust.  Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the oven to 350.  Bake for another 30-40 minutes.  If the crust is getting too brown, lay a sheet of foil over the top for the remainder of the cooking time.

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