Blueberry Rhubarb Pie

These are trying times when it's difficult to impossible to get out of the house and go to the store, and the times bring cooking innovation to new heights. Spring rhubarb is making a great showing in my garden. A couple of days ago, I made a great rhubarb compote, and now I'm craving p-i-e. You already know that strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my all time favorites, but I don't have any strawberries. I do have blueberries, so this recipe is born of innovation and practicality. There's also a new crust recipe, as I don't have a lot of olive oil, but I do have a lots of butter. This crust uses half the amount of butter as a regular butter crust, and substitutes olive oil for the remainder. The result is a buttery crust, one that's got a great crispy crumb, yet has a (modicum) of health!

Ingredients:

3 cups blueberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbs cornstarch

Pastry

2-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice cold water, plus an extra Tbs, if needed

1 tsp butter
1 tsp soy or almond milk
1 tsp turbinado sugar

Directions:

Combine blueberries, rhubarb, sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. Mix the flour with the butter and olive oil, sugar and salt, and combine with two forks until the mixture is the size of peas. Add the ice cold water by the tablespoon until the mixture forms a ball. Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Roll the pie dough into three 7 or 8 inch rounds. (Save one of the rounds for another use.) Transfer one the pastry rounds to a 7 or 8 inch pie plate. Trim the pastry even with the edge of the pie plate. Stir the blueberry rhubarb filling and pour into the pie crust. Top the filling with small pieces of butter. Top with a second crust. Seal the edge, crimp, and either make cut outs in the top crust or slice a design in the crust with a knife. Use a pastry brush to brush milk on top of the crust. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top of the crust.

Place the pie on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Reduce the heat to 350 and cook for about 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is visibly bubbling. Remove the pie, let cool, and enjoy either warm or cold.

Stealthy Cooking Tip: This particular combination tastes more like blueberries than rhubarb. Depending on your taste, you can adjust the amount of blueberries and rhubarb. I think this would be excellent using 3 cups of rhubarb and only 2 cups of blueberries.