Rhubarb Walnut Streusel Pie

It had been a long time since I’ve baked a pie and we are having friends over for their birthday dinners tomorrow.  Using the rhubarb a good friend sends me each year from his country home I decided to make a rhubarb pie.  No other fruit just rhubarb.  I’ve actually never had a rhubarb only pie and thought it would be interesting to try.  The rhubarb filling is spiced with nutmeg and I’ve left it nice and tart but with a decent amount of sweetness.  Rather than just my usual plain streusel topping, I’ve added nutmeg and walnuts to the streusel to tie it in with the filling.

As my usual, I’ve precooked the filling making it easy to avoid a soggy bottom.  Also I’ve par-baked the crust.  After baking with pie weights, I brushed loosened egg whites (god knows I have a lot of egg whites from the panettone) on to the crust before baking it until it starts to dry out before filling and topping it.

Despite shielding the crust after taking the weights out, the edge still gets much darker than I would prefer.  However, for me, it is worth it to avoid a soggy crust.

I always make at least two portions of dough and freeze them so I don’t have to make the pate brisee each time.

Pate Brisée 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces; 350g total) all-purpose flour, divided, 233 g with the butter and 117 g after.
• 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5g) kosher salt; for table salt use same weight or half as much by volume
• 2 1/2 sticks (10 ounces; 280g) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pats (see note)
• 6 tablespoons (3 ounces; 85 g or 85ml) cold water

Directions

• Combine two thirds of flour  (233 g) with 25 g sugar and 5 g salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse twice to incorporate. Spread butter pats evenly over surface. Pulse until no dry flour remains and dough just begins to collect in clumps, about 25 short pulses. Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough evenly around the bowl of the food processor. Sprinkle with remaining flour (117 g) and pulse until dough is just barely broken up, about 5 short pulses. Transfer dough to a large bowl.
• Sprinkle with 85 g of cold water. (TOSS THE CRUMBLY DOUGH UNTIL WATER IS WELL DISTRIBUTED). Then, using a rubber spatula, fold and press dough until it comes together into a ball (IN THE BOWL). Divide ball in half. Form each half into a 4-inch disk (ON PLASTIC WRAP). Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling and baking or freeze for later use after this period of rest in the fridge.
• When ready to shape the dough, pull out one ball, set it on a well-floured work surface, and sprinkle with more flour. Use a tapered rolling pin to start rolling the dough out into a circle, lifting the dough and rotating it while rolling to achieve an even shape. Continue rolling, changing the angle of your rolling pin as you go to get an even shape and thickness. The finished dough should overhang your pie plate by an inch or two.
• Pick up the dough by carefully rolling it around your rolling pin, using your bench scraper to help lift it off the work surface. Unroll it over a pie plate. Gently lift and fit the dough into the pie plate, getting down into the corners.
• For a single-crusted pie, use a pair of scissors to trim the dough so that it overhangs the edge by 1/2 inch all around. For a double-crusted pie, at this stage, fill it and drape your second round of pie dough over the top. Trim it to a 1/2-inch overhang along with the lower crust. Either way, tuck the overhanging edge(s) under itself all the way around the pie.
• Flute the edges of the pie crust using the forefinger of one hand and the thumb and forefinger of the other. The single-crust pie shell is ready to be blind-baked or filled. For a double-crusted pie, brush with an egg white, sprinkle with sugar, and cut vent holes in the top with a sharp knife before baking. 
   

Rhubarb Filling

• 640 g / 6 cups thickly sliced rhubarb (about 3 large or 6 small stalks)
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 248 g / 1⅓ cups granulated sugar (I used 200 g)
• 28 g / ¼ cup cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of fine sea salt

I use frozen rhubarb and place it in a pot with the vanilla, nutmeg and sugar and place it on the stove at the lowest temperature.  Once there is a lot of liquid I pour some into a small bowl and dissolve the cornstarch in it.  I then turn the temperature up to medium and let the rhubarb cook until it is nice and soft.  Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir and cook until thickened.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Streusel Topping for Pies

1⅔ cups streusel, to top Makes 1⅔ cups streusel, enough for one 9- or 10-inch pie topping

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

4 teaspoons granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, at room temperature

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Small handful of chopped walnuts

Stir together the flour, brown and granulated sugars, walnuts, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle in the butter pieces and toss to coat. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is chunky but not homogenous.

Chill for at least 15 minutes before using.

The streusel will keep refrigerated for 5 days or frozen for 1 month.

Baking

Par-bake crust for 20 mins at 400°F with pie weights and the edge crust shielded right from the start.

Remove weights then bake further 5-10 mins until lightly golden, shield the crust edges.

Remove from the oven to fill next.  Increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Fill with rhubarb filling leveling it out.  Top with streusel topping.

Bake at 425°F for 20 mins the bake at 350°F for 30 mins or until the filling is bubbling.

Remove and cool on a rack.

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