Rhubarb Pie

Winter Rhubarb from West Yorkshire should now be filling the shops.  This two hundred old tradition originating from the Industrial revolution produces a mouth watering dessert which when enhanced with a good dollop Jersey cream or custard is an example of British cooking at its best.

Ingredients:

1kg rhubarb, trimmed and chopped into rough 2cm pieces
1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
300g granulated sugar, plus a little extra for the top
 1/2 lemon juice
For the pastry
200g plain flour
100g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Pinch of salt
30g caster sugar
1 egg, separated (reserve the white)
1-2tbsp water
A little extra butter for greasing

Method:

1. Put the rhubarb and apple in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the sugar and cook on a gentle heat with a lid on for 3-4 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove the lid and continue to cook, until the rhubarb is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the sugar, egg yolk and enough water to form a rollable pastry.  Grease a 17-18cm x 2-3cm flan ring with a little butter and roll two-thirds of the pastry to about 2-3mm thickness on a lightly floured table. Line a flan ring on a baking sheet with the pastry and trim the edges.
3. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and pour on some dried beans or rice to weight the pastry down.  ‘Blind’ bake the tart for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is lightly coloured.
4. Meanwhile, roll the rest of the pastry out so that you are able to cut 1 cm strips that will be a little longer than the diameter of the ring.  These will be used for the ‘lattice’ pattern for the top of the pie.
5. Remove the baking beans and paper from the tart and spoon the rhubarb mixture in. Interweave the rest of the pastry strips over the top to form a lattice pattern, trim the edges and press them on to the edges of the pastry base with your thumb and forefinger. Brush the top with egg white and scatter some granulated sugar on top. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the top is a golden colour. Leave to cool to room temperature before easing tart on to a flat pie or cake plate.  Serve with thick custard, or clotted or thick Jersey cream.