Rhubarb Crostata

This week, we planted our vegetable garden...adding strawberry plants along with several new varieties of peppers, dried the remainder of peony petals for potpourri, and revived the wildflower bed that we started last year. I even spent some time making Concord grape jelly with my mom. That's another blog.

 I've been dreaming about rhubarb...rhubarb pie, rhubarb preserves, rhubarb drinks...everything rhubarb! Every time I've made a trip down to our garden, I've made a plan to make something of those lovely long stalks.  I'm a big fan of pies and it starts in the spring with rhubarb. My favorite pies, however, are not those with the carefully crimped crusts. I prefer the simple ones-- those with straight forward ingredients that speak for themselves. Sure, I can appreciate a well-made pie with an artistic latticed crust or one with embellishments. The Italian crostata, however, or its French cousin, the galette have my affection. Whichever name you prefer, no matter. They are free form, rustic and simple.

Rhubarb Rum Cooler

My plan was to bake up a crostata on Saturday, but after a very hot afternoon toiling in the garden, I decided to experiment with a Rhubarb Rum Cooler. Fast forward to Sunday, and now back on our feet, I was ready to  bring those rhubarb dreams I've been having to a sweet reality.

We can talk about crusts but let's save that for another day. My favorite is an all butter crust, or if I am short on time, I'll buy a prepared one. Let's face it. If time crunched and it's the difference between making dessert or not, for heaven's sake, buy the pie dough! 

Okay, so you have your pie dough. Store bought and pre-rolled, let it warm slightly before putting it onto a floury surface. Roll out the edges a bit to about 12 inches. Don't worry if it's a bit larger.  This will not only give you a bit more surface area for the fruit, but also give the appearance of a less than perfect and wonderfully homemade rustic dessert. Put a bit of flour on your chin for the full effect and it will look like you've been in the kitchen for hours.

It all begins here

Ragged edges are a good thing!

Okay, kidding aside, it's time to get busy with that filling. You can put any filling you like, but stay with me, let's make it rhubarb.

I've made this two ways--baking the raw ingredients and by preparing the filling first. I prefer to bake the raw ingredients because of the integrity of the item isn't lost through cooking. Either way, it is delicious.

Combine chopped rhubarb with  sugar, flour and spices and toss well to coat completely. 

Toss ingredients to combine.

Spoon the filling into the center of the dough. Now, fold edges of the dough around the rhubarb filling. Brush the dough edges with milk and sprinkle with some more sweet stuff. If you have turbinado sugar, it adds a nice accent. If not, no worries, granulated will do the trick. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Bake 10 minutes in a preheated  425 oven on parchment lined sheet pan. Reduce temperature to 375 and bake another 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.  Serve warm or at room temperature with freshly whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

Simple, rustic and delicious!

Rustic Rhubarb Tart

Pie dough, homemade or frozen

3 cups rhubarb, chopped 1" pieces

3 Tablespoons flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

Pinch of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon milk

Turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling on the crust