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As I mentioned yesterday, my husband’s favorite pie is rhubarb and I just happened across the most beautiful, red stalks of rhubarb I have ever seen in two years of living here – and what was better? My husband was actually here to enjoy it!! Often, when rhubarb is in season, he has gone away for work so I have made rhubarb orange jam and rhubarb vodka in the past to preserve the best of the rhubarb of the season for him to enjoy when he returns home.

For Valentine’s day, we were just going to enjoy a nice seafood meal and make absolutely no fancy, chocolate or red dessert since they all just seemed so cliché and not so appetizing, so I was glad to change our plans when I saw the beautiful rhubarb and great deal on the largest, plump cherries I had seen yet and decided to make a cherry rhubarb pie!

I used Alice Water’s tart dough recipe for the pie dough, and simply tossed bits of rhubarb and pitted cherry halves with some sugar for the filling. With some time in the oven, the pie came out smelling amazing and looking great with all the cliché hearts that I had stamped into the surface of the pie.

Since we were just digging into our dinner with our fingers, we decided to just get one fork and dig into the pie in the pie dish for dessert. It was perfectly simple, fresh tasting and romantic! Since Mei was napping while we ate dinner, she got some pie for breakfast and we found that she absolutely LOVES rhubarb! She is totally her father’s daughter – no question, no contest!

I totally suggest this pie combination for all those rhubarb lovers out there! This was fantastic! I might even make a chocolate pie dough next time …. wouldn’t that be something??

Ingredients for Alice Water’s tart dough:

  • 1 C all-purpose flour
  • 3 TBS sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 6 TBS unsalted butter
  • 3 TBS chilled water

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a medium bowl and cut the butter into the flour mixture until coarse crumbs form. Drizzle in the water, one TBS at a time just until the dough comes together – you may not use all three TBS of water.

Wrap in plastic wrap, flatten into disc that is about four inches across and refrigerate for at least one hour or up to two days in advance.

Will make enough pie dough for one 9-inch pie, both bottom and top layers.

Ingredients for Rhubarb Cherry Pie:

  • 1 pound of rhubarb, trimmed and diced
  • 1 pound of cherries, stemmed, pitted and halved
  • 2/3C – 1 C sugar, to taste
  • 1 TBS cornstarch/cornflour

Prepare the rhubarb and cherries then toss together in a large bowl. Cover the fruit with the sugar and cornstarch, tossing to ensure that all the pieces of fruit are covered with sugar then leave at room temperature for a half hour to macerate.

Pour into the prepared pie dish. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C.

Cover the pie with whatever design and amount of pie dough you like. I chose to brush the top of my pie with a simple egg wash (one egg + 1 TBS cold water, beaten) before baking for 30-40 minutes until the top has become golden and the inside is bubbling and thickened.

Cool and enjoy!

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