Rustic Peach & Rhubarb Pie

This sweet and tart pie packed with ripe summer fruit will soon become your family’s favorite summer dessert

An extraordinary flakey crust, tart filling and a sweet whipped cream topping. Heaven on a plate.

It is pie season.

Rhubarb and strawberry seem to be on everyone’s list right now with all the tart rhubarb at the farmer’s markets. I wanted to make something extra special , but strawberries just didn’t seem to fit the bill. Peaches are also in season, so I thought, I’ll bake a peach and rhubarb pie. I scoured the internet and to my surprise could not find this combination anywhere. I also thought adding in thyme from my garden would boost the flavors and give it a fresh, bright taste. I was right. This pie is so dang good. The tartness of the rhubarb with the bold sweetness of the peaches make an incredible flavor combination.

I used the America’s Test Kitchen pie dough recipe that incorporates vodka for an extra flakey crust and the “bones” of their rhubarb pie recipe. But I pretty much made a hard turn and made the recipe my own after the microwaving of the fruit to get the mascerating process to speed up.

See more notes after recipe instructions…..

Fresh tart rhubarb and ripe peaches from the garden.

Rustic Rhubarb Peach pie: total time- 7 hours

For the filling:
5 cups fresh peaches, peeled and cut into large pieces- save the peels to release juices.
5-6 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1 inch pieces
4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP tapioca flour or instant tapioca
For the Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBSP sugar, plus 2 TBSp exta for sugaring the crust
1 tsp salt
10 TBSP unsalted butter, very cold, cut into slivers
2 TBSP European butter, very cold, cut into chunks
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, very cold, cut into quarters
1/4 cup chilled Vodka
1/4 cup ice cold water, plus extra for sugaring the crust

Salted European butter, usalted butter-all flaked and a bit of lard make the most tender crust

Method:

For the Crust:
In a food processor, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 TBSP sugar and salt for 4-5 seconds. Add in butter & pulse about 5 seconds until flour is combined. Scrape down bowl, add remaining flour. Pulse another 4-5 times. Transfer to a large bowl and add in vodka and chilled water using a spatula to combine. Divide the dough into two halves. Wrap halves in plastic and chill for at least an hour. Dough can be frozen up to one month.
For the filling:
Pre- heat oven to 425. While dough chills, squeeze juice from peach peels and pits into a microwave proof bowl with rhubarb, thyme and sugar. Toss peels and pits. Microwave the mixture uncovered for 90 seconds. Stir and microwave another minute. Add in half the peaches. Set aside and let the fruit mascerate for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to release the juices. Drain the fruit through a fine mesh strainer capuring the liquid into a large saucepan. Set rhubard and peaches aside. Add remaining peaches only to the liquid and cook on medim high heat until mixture is thickened and reduced by half. Mash the peaches in the liquid with a fork or vegetable masher . Stir in remaining fruit. Stir in tapioca until well mixed. Remove thyme sprigs and discard. Let pie fruit filling cool.
On a very well floured counter, roll out dough into a 12 inch circle. Place pie dough/disk into a 9′ inch pie plate. I tuck the extra dough under the lip to create an extra thick crust. Cover with plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the top dough into another 12″ circle and either cut into strips for a lattice or transfer whole to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes as well.
Remove the pie dough lined pie plate from the fridge and add in the now cooled rhubard and peach pie filling. Top with other disk of pie dough. Trim the edges and crimp the edges to seal. Brush pie with water and sprinkle with remaining 2 TBSP of sugar. Cut 6-8 slits into top of crusts to allow for steam to release.
Place pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25- 30 minutes at 425. Reduce heat to 375 and rotate the baking sheet to allow for even browning. Bake another 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely so filling can set up- about 2 1/2 -3 hours. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

A splash of vodka helps the crust to puff while baking.

Additonal notes:

This pie crust calls for a flour that is high in protein like King Arthur.

You will also find its a bit wet, so use lots of flour when you roll it out and make sure it is well chilled.

I squeezed the juice from my peach peels and skins to get even more juice into the pie when I reduced the syrup. This is nothing but flavor, flavor , flavor. It may seem a bit odd, but it works. The tapioca will firm up the juices well while baking and letting the pie cool completely is key.

I topped my pie with whipped cream , but I imagine ice cream would be heavenly. Message me with any questions.

Enjoy!