Rhubarb, a fibrous vegetable in the buckwheat family, was originally grown in Asia and brought to the US in 1790. Strawberry rhubarb pie is a popular dish made with rhubarb and strawberries, and the vegetable can also be used in sauces, dressings, jams, and even wine.
Rhubarb, often called a “pie plant,” is a fibrous vegetable in the buckwheat family. It looks like a dark red celery and Marco Polo raved about it from his trip to China. Rhubarb was originally grown in Asia and was first brought to the United States of America circa 1790. The settlers being the thrifty people they were, they soon discovered they could make pies with the red stems of this unusual plant. Thus, the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie was born.
Rhubarb is extremely acidic, so the strawberries and added sugar help smooth out the taste. Conversely, the softness of the rhubarb is matched by the flavors of the strawberry. Strawberry rhubarb pie is rather similar to crunch or crumble, that is, it has a fruit filling with a streusel-like topping.
A basic strawberry rhubarb pie recipe calls for: for the filling: 1 cup (227 grams) sugar; 3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca pearls; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 455 grams rhubarb, coarsely chopped 1 cup (227 grams) of whole strawberries; an unbaked pie shell. The topping uses 1/3 cup (85 grams) flour; 1/3 cup (85 grams) sugar; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 3 tablespoons butter, slightly softened.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius).
For the filling, combine the sugar, tapioca, salt and nutmeg in a mixing bowl. Add rhubarb and strawberries; stir to coat the fruit. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes. Pour the mixture into the pie shell. To mix the dressing, combine the dressing ingredients, cutting in the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture over the pie filling. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
The cooks also made pies out of rhubarb alone. In her book “The First Four Years,” author Laura Ingalls Wilder recalls making a rhubarb pie for the threshing crew (she calls it a “pie plant”). In her haste to prepare the meal, she neglected to put sugar in the pie and was mortified when one of the threshers lifted the pie crust over her piece and spread the sugar over her. “The sole of the pie was so sour,” she writes, “And that first bite must have been just terrible.”
For all its acidity, however, rhubarb boasts great fiber and vitamin C content. This makes it ideal for use in a variety of applications, not just strawberry rhubarb pie. It can be used in sauces and salad dressings for a tart flavor. It can also be made into jams or preserves, used in cakes and muffins, and even as a base for wine.
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