Grandma Niemi’s Rhubarb Custard Pie and My Own Fool-Proof Oil Crust

My Grandma, Ailene Niemi, won prizes in a couple of small town fairs with this rhubarb pie recipe.  Mom said Gram also made a spring tonic out of rhubarb, a practice probably learned from my Finnish Great Grandma, Minnie. I personally consider rhubarb to be Minnesota’s State fruit, but it is not original to Minnesota.  Ancient records date its cultivation to 2700 years ago in China. Rhubarb has also been cultivated for centuries along the Volga River, in Greece, and in Scandinavia.  When I asked Gram for the recipe, she wasn’t sure she could be that specific, but she wrote it down in a letter and gave alternative options for ingredients and amounts along the way.  To the right, is a photo of that letter on one of my old cookbooks from 1939 titled, The United States Regional Cookbook by Ruth Berolzheimer.  I keep Gram’s recipe in the book.

GRANDMA NIEMI’S RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE

1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 to 1 2/3 cup sugar (try using brown sugar for 1/4 of the sugar–MmmMmm)
3 slightly beaten eggs
4 cups cut up rhubarb
2 Tablespoons butter

Combine flour, nutmeg, and sugar.  Mix in slightly beaten eggs.  Add rhubarb.  Line pie plate with pastry. Fill with rhubarb mixture.  Dot with butter.  Top with lattice crust.  Bake in hot oven 400 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

CAROL’S FOOL-PROOF OIL PASTRY CRUST (rolled out between waxed paper)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 Tablespoons COLD water

Mix flour and salt.  Blend in oil thoroughly with fork.  Sprinkle all of the cold water over the mixture.  Mix thoroughly.  Divide mixture into 2 balls.  Seal one ball in tupperware type bowl.  Sprinkle a few drops of water on the counter or board to keep wax paper from sliding.  Put 12-14 inch long piece of waxed paper (plastic wrap won’t work) down.  Put dough in middle. Flatten slightly with hand.   Put another piece of waxed paper on top of dough and roll out to pie plate size.  Take top wax paper off dough.  Flip over into pie plate and remove other waxed paper sheet.

Repeat again with other dough ball.  For lattice top, cut in strips and place over filling in woven grid pattern.