If you are looking for the perfect summer pie, I have you covered, this bluebarb pie is a must. The Fourth of July is the quintessential Yankee holiday and a large part of this patriotic celebration is food. From burgers to pie, we celebrate by eating various national classics. Pi Day, which is a new(ish) annual celebration of the famous mathematical constant, began being celebrated unofficially in 1988. Larry Shaw a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium, came up with the idea and corralled staff there to publicly march around one of its circular spaces followed by a pie eating celebration after. The House of Representatives officially designated March 14th as National Pi Day. Everyone I know now makes and eats pie on Pi Day, but Pie Day is has passed, it is now July, and we need more pie.
I myself am not a huge pie person, mainly because so many pies are too syrupy and sweet. My kids, however, wanted a patriotic pie recipe in honor of the July 4th holiday, and I wanted something good. So this one is red, white(ish) and blue for my kids, and it’s tasty and not crazy sweet, for me. Rhubarb is delicious and a great way to make a dessert a bit more tart than sweet. Mixed with blueberries (a great antioxidant fruit), and you have what my husband named bluebarb pie. I prefer to make my own pie crust and encourage you to do so as well. I use a simple recipe and you can whip it up in a Cuisinart in no time. Make it ahead, freeze it, just make sure to give it some rest time before baking it. I suggest serving this with a good quality vanilla ice cream, but my boys insist on fresh whipped cream. Happy July 4th everyone.
Bluebarb Pie
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small dice
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
- 1 egg white, whisked for egg wash
- My Pate Brisee (Pie Dough) Recipe x2 for a double-crust pie, chilled
Directions
- Step 1 Make the dough and allow to chill while making the filling.
- Step 2 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Step 3 On a lightly floured work surface, roll out both crusts. Line a deep 9-inch pie pan with the bottom crust and return both crusts to the refrigerator to rest while you make the filling.
- Step 4 In a medium mixing bowl, add the chopped rhubarb, blueberries, sugar and flour. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix to combine.
- Step 5 Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator. Scoop the fruit filling into the prepared pie crust. The fruit should come close to the rim. Top with cut up butter.
- Step 6 Place the top crust over the fruit filling. Trim any excess dough if needed from the edges.
- Step 7 Gently crimp the edge to seal, using your thumb to make a decorative edge. With a paring knife cut 5-6 vents on top to allow the steam to escape.
- Step 8 Using a pasty brush, lightly coat the top crust and the edges with the egg wash.
- Step 9 Place the pie on a baking sheet and place on the middle rack. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for another 25 minutes. If the crust is starting to darken too much, place a piece of aluminum foil over the pie for the remainder of the cooking process.
- Step 10 Bake another 5 minutes, or until you see steady bubbling in the filling coming through the vents.
- Step 11 Remove pie from oven and let cool completely before serving.
Welcome to my Simmer + Sauce. I always thought I was going to be a lawyer, but going to culinary school was one of the best decisions I ever made. I'm a former professional chef from NYC who loves to eat, cook and talk about food. My focus is great food, with solid recipes and reasonable ingredient lists. Cooking should be enjoyable, not stressful. Many of my recipes are family friendly and often on the healthy(ish) side.
