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BC SEASONAL COOKBOOK – RHUBARB PIE WITH MERINGUE CRUST

April 5th, 2009 Write a Comment  Print This Post

Every Sunday we share a recipe from EBC president Eric Pateman’s cookbook – The British Columbia Seasonal Cookbook.

RHUBARB PIE WITH A MERINGUE CRUST

Rhubarb is one of those things you either lover or hate – there doesn’t ever seem to be any middle ground on the subject.  For early pioneers, the robust and hardy rhubarb plant supplied essential vitamins and minerals in spring before any berries ripened.  Indigenous to Asia, rhubarb was first brought to Europe for its medicinal qualities.  Huge plantations were soon established in Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire, England, where they still grow today.  Officially recognized in Europe as a food, rhubarb was known as ‘pie plant’ because it was most often presented as a pie filling and in other desserts.  It was also the English who brought the first rhubarb to Canada.  This recipe offers a nice balance between the tart rhubarb and the sweet meringue crust.  And remember, don’t eat the plant’s leaves – they’re poisonous.

 serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 lbs rhubarb, frozen or fresh
• 1 x 9 inch pie crust, prebaked

Meringue

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 5 egg whites
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Mix together sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Slice rhubarb into 1-inch pieces, add to the flour-sugar mixture and mix until well coated.

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook rhubarb until it is soft and thickened, about 10 minutes.  Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

For the meringue, mix sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.  In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy.  Add cream of tartar and beat in sugar-cornstarch mixture, 1 Tbsp at a time, until egg whites are stiff and glossy. 

Pour the cooled rhubarb filling into prepared pie crust and spoon meringue gently on top.

Bake the meringue-topped pie at 350F for 10-12 minutes, until the meringue is slightly golden.

A member of the buckwheat family, rhubarb is closely related to sorrel.  Although rhubarb is technically a vegetable, the stems are used as a fruit in most recipes.