Rhubarb galette.Julie Van Rosendaal/The Globe and Mail
If you have generations-old cookbooks in your kitchen, you may have come across a recipe that calls for “pie plant,” at one time a common name for rhubarb because of its tendency to be baked into pies.
Rhubarb is one of the first plants to unfurl from the soil in spring, its crown a thrilling mess of brilliant pink knobs that at first resemble peonies. Urban gardeners (and neighbourhood foragers) love the ease of growing rhubarb. The plant thrives with neglect, thus its tendency to flourish alongside back fences and in the most gravelly back-alley conditions.
Technically a vegetable, as the edible part of the plant does not contain its seeds, rhubarb is most often treated as a tart fruit, sweetened and used in pies and crisps. It can be chopped and added to loaves, muffins and scones, even lemon bars – anywhere you might use similarly acerbic fresh or frozen cranberries. If your rhubarb has green stalks, which are equally edible, the plant can feel more vegetal and the colour may be less appealing in a pie – but all rhubarb makes fantastic chutney, or it can be added to curries and other dishes to provide a tartness that might otherwise come from lemon or vinegar. Or, simmer it with red cranberries and freeze the sauce for a fall feast.
Some people say that rhubarb season ends in June, but it can be harvested through the summer. Just keep in mind, pulling stalks may deplete the plant of energy stores it needs to build up for the next year. Though many rhubarb crowns are so prolific, this is hardly a concern.
To store, simply chop and freeze for use in pies, crisps and other recipes (use straight from the freezer), or simmer chopped rhubarb with a splash of water and sugar to taste until it starts to break down, then store it in the fridge or freezer (the texture and added moisture will protect it from freezer burn). Stewed rhubarb is an excellent thing to have in your fridge; it’s divine spooned over yogurt and granola, waffles, panna cotta, pavlova or Eton mess, or eaten by the spoonful.
Simple Rhubarb Galette
Rhubarb pie doesn’t have to be complicated. This free-form galette can be made with regular pie dough or frozen puff pastry. If you like, scatter crumbled cookies (shortbread or gingersnaps are delicious) on top after it’s baked for a crunchy contrast. You could wait for strawberries, but there’s no need. Rhubarb stands up on its own and pairs well with all the seasonal fruits that are right around the corner: berries, stone fruits such as peaches, plums, cherries, and in the fall, apples and pears. If you have an air fryer (really, a tiny convection oven) you can bake a pie for one or two using a piece of pastry and a reduced ratio of rhubarb-sugar-cornstarch.
Pastry (enough for a single-crust pie) or 1/2 package puff pastry, thawed
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 to 4 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb (or rhubarb and berries)
Butter
Beaten egg, oat milk or cream, for brushing (optional)
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Crumbled cookies, for scattering on top (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry or unroll prerolled puff pastry into a 10- to 12-inch round or square. You can do this directly on a silicone mat, then slide it onto your baking sheet. If you like, cut it into about four smaller squares, keeping in mind that galettes don’t need to be any particular shape. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet.
In a bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the rhubarb and toss to coat. Pile the fruit onto your pastry, leaving about an inch around the edges, or pile some onto each square or round. Fold over the edges to enclose but not cover the fruit, pinching the folds to help them hold their shape. Slice or grate a couple tablespoons of butter over top. If you like, brush the exposed pastry with a little beaten egg, oat milk or cream, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden, the filling is bubbly and the rhubarb is soft. If it’s browning too quickly, cover loosely with a piece of foil and turn the oven down to 325 F to let the fruit finish cooking.
Sprinkle with crumbled cookies before serving, if you like.
Serves about four.