Rhubarb Pie

Ok, I'm just going to come out and say it.... I'm a yankee!  Born and raised in Michigan!  I'm a transplant to the south, having only been here about 9 years.  Many people in the South don't know what rhubarb is.... I guess because it's very difficult to grow in the south.  In the North however, it grows like a weed.  I guess you need the harsh freeze / thaw cycles that come with living in the north to get good rhubarb growth.  So, what exactly is rhubarb?  Well, when you see it at the grocery store (with the fresh fruits and veggies) it looks like a large red (with maybe some green thrown in there) celery stalk.  But it's MUCH larger than celery.  The only place I have ever found it here is at Harris Teeter.  Maybe they have it other places, but I have never found it around Florence except at Harris Teeter.  

Rhubarb is like a tiny piece of heaven.  In fact, I'm SURE that it will be somewhere on the buffet table that exists in heaven!  My sister and I used to eat it raw.  It grew back behind our barn in mass quantities in the summer.  It was almost as though if you cut one stalk, three grew back in its place.  Before it's cut, it looks like this huge stalk with a giant leaf on top - mature rhubarb the leaf will be about the size of your head.  It's actually kind of a pretty plant and I find it extremely delicious.  It is very, very tart if you eat it raw (think along the lines of an extremely not-ripe granny smith apple).  To me, the more tart the better!!!  And rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream - nothing was better in the summer!  Ok, on with the recipe:

4 cups chopped rhubarb (about 4-5 large stalks)

1 1/2 cups sugar (I use much less, like 3/4 cups because I really like it tart!)

5 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp butter

2 deep dish pie shells (one for top, one for bottom, or prepare your own pastry shell)

Pre-bake the bottom pie shell according to the package instructions.  

Combine rhubarb, sugar and flour in a large bowl and mix well.  Spoon rhubarb mixture int0 pre baked shell.  Slice butter over rhubarb.  Cover with second crust, removing excess around the edges. Score the top crust.

Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil so they won't burn.  Bake at 350 Deg for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until rhubarb is soft when poked with a knife.  Remove foil about 10 minutes before baking is complete to brown crust edges.

I will say that you will either LOVE or HATE rhubarb.  I personally love it and wanted to share with all of my southern friends a little bit of northern cuisine (if you can call a pie cuisine).