Edna Lewis’s Rhubarb Pie Recipe (2024)

We love rhubarb on Ireland and we love butter. I make pastry for rhubarb pie with butter. Freeze 6 oz butter for at least 12 hours. Hand grate into 8 oz plain flour. Dip butter up and down in flour as you do this. Flick grated butter through flour wwith a knife. Sprinkle 2/3 tablespoons iced water over flour/butter. Bring together very quickly. Chill for 30 mins. I use salted butter. Really good with rhubarb.

If you want to take this recipe up a notch, add the zest of a small orange. My friend, Pat, has been making me a rhubarb pie for my birthday for the last 35 years and we believe a hint of orange makes the perfect rhubarb pie. And we never ruin a rhubarb pie with strawberries which wrecks both a rhubarb pie and a fresh strawberry pie!

I substitute a slosh of maple syrup (preferably dark) for the sugar in all the rhubarb desserts I make. The rhubarb takes up the syrup like celery takes up water, yielding an even sweetness with no sour spots. If you use the syrup and dot well with butter, you probably don't need the cornstarch either.

mark you don't need to prepare the pie plate. The rolled dough should be wider than the pie dish so when you transfer you can press in sides and bottom to fit with a bit of extra dough hanging over the rim. Woven lattice is tricky. An easy way would be to lay strips in cross pattern and just not weave over and under. A lot of bakers do that. I like the taste and flakiness of half butter/half lard

I didn’t realize that the Edna Lewis recipe for lard dough was meant for a 2-crust pie. There’s no way a 1 1/2 cup dough would be enough for a bottom crust plus lattice top. Lewis’s lard crust originally called for 3 cups flour and 6 ounces lard and 1/2 cup water. And her basic one crust recipe is 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 stick butter and 2 tablespoons lard with about 4-6 tablespoons water. My double crust dough is 2 1/2 c flour,2 sticks butter 4 tablespoons lard t Tb sugar and 1/2 cup water

If you want to take this recipe up a notch, add the zest of a small orange.

Very simple and very tasty. Like the fresh nutmeg. Wasn't sure this would stand up to a family favorite rhubarb pie recipe, and was pleasantly surprised. The higher temperature (450 versus 350) creates the perfect juices on the lattice. Will definitely try again.

The Beekman Boys - www.beekman1802.com have an excellent video for making a lattice pie crust.

Can you be more specific on what amount a "slosh" is?
Also, do you use any sugar or just the maple syrup?

I really like the filling and have used the filling recipe several times. The pie crust is a horrible recipe and as others have mentioned it doesn't make much. It has to be rolled super thin.

The 1/4 cup of fat does not look to be anywhere near enough. Perhaps it's a misprint or an editing error. A 40% ratio of fat to flour would seem to be an improvement.

Made this pie for Mothers Day with a different recipe for the shell. Would recommend cutting the rhubarb into no more than a 1/2 cm dice, as, even with the hot oven and long bake, the rhubarb was still a bit al dente. An extra teaspoon of cornflour/starch wouldn't hurt either. Overall, a good recipe though. Mom loved it! Served with tequila-lime whipped cream and a homemade strawberry-Grand Marnier sauce.

We liked this version- not too sweet. It could've used more cornstarch; filling was too runny. Thanks to others for suggestion to check out Fabulous Beckman Boys for how to do lattice crust. Forgot to put aluminum foil around edge, so it got too dark before rest of pie was done.

Pie was delicious.

Also a good recipe for gooseberry pie.

This is possibly the best pie I’ve ever eaten. I diced the rhubarb into very small pieces, maybe 1/4” cubes, and the filling was perfect in texture and sublime in flavor. And the big, wide lattice strips, browned up with the egg wash made it a thing of beauty.

Curious about cooking a pie at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. It is usually 375 -425 max. Also, the rhubarb pies I've made needed quite a bit more thickener or the juice runs out and the bottom is soggy. Wonder if she was more of an intuitive baker, less incumbered by these details?

This pie crust, rolled thin, makes a lovely small pie. Even finicky eaters and dieters (‘oh, i never eat the crust, too many carb types) enjoy the crust as much as the filling. This is definitely a go to recipe. Add a bit more water to the crust to moisten, weigh dry ingredients, rest in refrigerator, and roll really thin. With a smaller pie, the juices will not leak or spill over during baking.

The pie was ok, but the crust was incredibly dry, even after adding more lard and water. I didn't sift the flour - would that have made a difference? I read all the "helpful" comments before making this. However, "all" comments provided much more insight and information. Next time, I'll read all.

whelp....I should have read the comments BEFORE making the crust. It was a super dry crust and I had to add extra water (didn't have additional fat). it was dry and tough...next time I will make sure to trust my instinct. flakey BEFORE being baked is not a good sign.

I used John Golden’s double crust recipe and it was amazing - hands down the best pie crust I’ve ever made (used duck fat instead of regular lard). The filling here needs more cornstarch - I was so sad when I cut into the beautiful crust and the juices ran out. But love the rhubarb only recipe.

Filling was too runny and the crust was horrible. Not nearly enough crust for the bottom and a lattice top! Flavor was wonderful!

I didn’t realize that the Edna Lewis recipe for lard dough was meant for a 2-crust pie. There’s no way a 1 1/2 cup dough would be enough for a bottom crust plus lattice top. Lewis’s lard crust originally called for 3 cups flour and 6 ounces lard and 1/2 cup water. And her basic one crust recipe is 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 stick butter and 2 tablespoons lard with about 4-6 tablespoons water. My double crust dough is 2 1/2 c flour,2 sticks butter 4 tablespoons lard t Tb sugar and 1/2 cup water

I followed the instructions but ended up with a lot of liquid, which ruined the pastry on the bottom. Where did I go wrong??

I’ve been making Edna Lewis’s lard pastry for years. In Maine it’s fairly easy to buy freshly rendered lard at butcher shops or from some farmers market vendors. Her original recipe calls for 3 ounces lard, 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/3cup water. Add a touch of sugar and salt. Best pie dough

I find it hard to believe that you got a fully double pie crust out of 1.5 cups of flour and that this ingredient list (especially the 4 cups of rhubarb) made the wonderfully tall pie pictured here ....Is the photo shown here really of this recipe, with the ingredients listed??It normally takes 8 cups of filling to get a mounded pie as well as two full crust recipes (at 1.25 to 1.5 cups flour each) to make a covered pie, in a 9in pie dish.

Used pre-made crust for dessert in a hurry. Followed directions for filling to a T. Baked on a stone in slightly lower than middle oven, and the edges of the crust started to darken too much immediately. I placed a layer of foil over it, and at the end, removed except for the outer rim. The filling and crust proportion was perfect. TART! Ice cream or whipped cream, please. I will make again with homemade crust at 425, the maple syrup recommendation from a commentor, and the orange zest.

Needs either 3 or 4 teaspoons of cornstarch- depending on how runny you like your pie.