It’s rhubarb season! I wish I could say I cut this rhubarb from my garden, but I didn’t. I bought it at the store, so it’s not even as local as I’d like. I keep hoping one day my plants will grow big enough to harvest, but they’re being stubborn. I planted three about three years ago. Two survived, but are still too small to harvest. Maybe next year?

I wasn’t a fan of rhubarb when I was a kid. My Nana (my Dad’s mom) had some in her garden and used to bake pies. My poor dad loved the stuff, but couldn’t eat it anymore because he had recurrent kidney stones. Rhubarb (along with spinach, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, wheat bran, and strawberries) contains enough oxalate to trigger kidney stones in people who are prone to them. It’s more complicated than that, of course. Calcium and water intake also play a role, but the bottom line was his doc said no more rhubarb. Most folks have no trouble with the stalks but nobody, absolutely nobody, should eat the leaves. Biology is fascinating. It’s amazing to me that a plant can have an edible part connected to a toxic part. There’s nothing to be scared of, just cut off the leaves and discard them, then wash the stalks and cook something yummy! And don’t eat the leaves.

Anyway, I never gave rhubarb another thought until one day my Chief Taste Tester (a.k.a. my husband) came home with a rhubarb plant one of his customers gave him. So, of course, I had to plant it and the next year make a pie. Now, you don’t always get to harvest that soon, but this was already a several-year-old plant. I only had to wait until its second spring. That’s when I discovered that my taste buds grew up: I loved the pie! The plant, unfortunately, did not survive more than a couple of years after that (long, sad story,) which is why I replanted. I usually like to buy rhubarb locally while I’m waiting for mine to grow, but I wasn’t in the right neighborhood this time. The stuff I ended up with from the market was just gorgeous. I’ve never seen it so red! Usually, the stalks have quite a bit of green in them. The green isn’t as pretty, but it does taste just as good. Maybe even better!

Ingredients:

2 Single Pie Crusts

2 cups (396 g) sugar

¼ cup (44 g) Instant ClearJel (may substitute ¼ cup [30 g] flour)

About 2 pounds (908 g) fresh, young rhubarb stalks (about eight 12-inch [30 cm] stalks). This is an estimate. I don’t think I’ve ever used the same amount in two pies. You want enough to fill the crust without overflowing, and how much that weighs or how many stalks it takes varies widely with your rhubarb.

1½ tablespoons (21 g) cold butter

Preparation:

1.) Preheat the oven to 450º F (232º C). Line the pie plate with the first crust. Fold over the edge, crimp, and place in the freezer while you prepare the filling. Roll the second crust and set aside. I like to pop it in the fridge on a cookie sheet while I make the filling.

2.) In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and Instant ClearJel or flour. Set aside.

3.) Wash, trim, and dice the rhubarb stalks. I’ll usually just slice the stalks crosswise if they are ¾” (2 cm) or less in diameter. Anything larger, I slice once lengthwise down the center and then slice crosswise. (For those of you using measuring cups, you’re looking for about 6 cups.) Put the diced rhubarb in a large bowl.

4.) Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the rhubarb, and stir. Let stand about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. If your rhubarb is juicy, you can move ahead as soon as all the sugar mixture looks wet like it does in the Step 5 photo. Sometimes it never does; in that case, 20 minutes is adequate. While it sits, prepare your top crust.

5.) Pour the rhubarb mixture into the frozen bottom crust. Cut the butter up into small pieces and sprinkle them over the filling.

6.) Add the top crust, either latticed or vented (see Homemade Apple Pie for how I make my fake lattice). Place a pie crust shield or narrow pieces of foil around the edges.

7.) Put the pie in the oven, with a piece of foil or a rimmed cookie sheet on the rack below the pie to catch any drips. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350°F. After 15 minutes more, remove the pie shield. Bake for another 20 minutes, until filling is bubbly and crust is golden. Allow the pie to cool completely before serving, at least four hours. Otherwise, the filling will refuse to stay in the crust.