For St. Patrick's Day at home, we never did the Corned Beef and Cabbage thing but we would have a nice Lamb Stew followed by a Rhubarb Pie, with the Rhubarb picked right from our back garden. You can make this pie ahead of time this week and freeze it, so on St. Pat's Day you can just pull it out (Ooh err...) of the freezer to defrost and go out on the lash with your friends. Many markets do not stock rhubarb, and annual per capita consumption - one-10th of a pound - is down 88 percent from its heyday before World War II. But after decades in the doghouse, old-fashioned rhubarb is in style again. In New York, at least, rhubarb cultivation seems to be reviving. With a multitude of small plantings, farmers across the state are exploiting diverse niches, and chef's at the most expensive restaurants prominently offer rhubarb during the prime local season, May and June, Rhubarb is better from December to March than it is during its natural season, which lasts from March through October. That's because the winter crop is forced, or transplanted from the fields to dark, warm hothouses. In this environment, the plants grow pretty pink stalks (rather than red or green ones) that are sweeter in flavor, but you can find it year round now as it is exported from China (surprise, surprise!) for this recipe you can use the canned stuff if you are lazy and want the end product to be garbage. Look for rhubarb at supermarkets and specialty foods stores. Field-grown rhubarb can be red or green; the only difference is its appearance. Choose a bunch as you would celery: It should have very crisp stalks. Store rhubarb in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator; it will keep for one to two weeks. Before using, trim the stems and discard the leaves, which are mildly poisonous. ROSCOMMON RHUBARB PIE INGREDIENTS 11 cups red rhubarb 1 to 1 1 / 2 cups granulated sugar Topping: 2 cups flour 2 tablespoons superfine sugar 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder Pinch salt 2 ounces butter 1 egg 3 / 4 cup whole milk Egg wash Granulated sugar Accompaniments: Soft brown sugar Whipped Cream METHOD Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Trim the rhubarb, wipe with a damp cloth and cut into pieces about 1-inch in length. Put into the base of a tin or sautZ pan, sprinkle with the sugar. We put the stainless steel sautZ pan on a low heat at this point while we make the dough. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Whisk the egg with the milk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid all at once and mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and roll into a 9-inch round about 1-inch thick. Place this round on top of the rhubarb and tuck in the edges neatly. Brush with a little egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees for another 30 minutes, or until the top is crusty and golden and the rhubarb soft and juicy. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes. Put a warm plate over the top of the sautZ pan, turn upside down onto the plate being careful of the hot juices. Serve warm with soft brown sugar and whipped cream. AND FINALLY... A psychiatrist and his patient were walking through the hospital garden. The patient says: "That rhubarb over there, how do you get it to grow so tall?" The psychiatrist replies: "I think the head gardener puts manure on it." The patient says: "That's a bit bloody strange, we put custard on ours!"
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