Adventures with Rhubarb

Confession time: before tonight, I had never cooked rhubarb before.  I had never knowingly eaten it.  Before last weekend, I had never bought it.  But it was at the farmer's market, so I decided to try it.  It's one of those early spring vegetables (wait, it is a veggie, right?) that some people rave about.

 Fortunately for me, the St. Paul Farmer's Market sent an email to their mailing list including a recipe for Rhubarb Custard Bars.  Sounds good to me, let's try making it!

Crust:

1-1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

Filling:

1 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp flour

4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

4-5 c rhubarb 

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

Crust: blend flour & sugar together, then cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender. Press crust into a 9x13 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with a cooking spray. 

Unbaked crust.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Prepare filling while crust is baking. 

FYI: chopping rhubarb up into tiny pieces takes rather a long time.

Filling: In a large mixing bowl blend sugar and flour, then add eggs, vanilla and rhubarb and blend well. 

Filling: kinda goopy and gross.

Pour mixture over partially baked crust and continue baking for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm or cooled. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Verdict: surprisingly good!  Having never eating rhubarb before, I wasn't sure if I would like these, but the sugar in the filling plus the buttery goodness of the crust makes them very tasty, without overpowering the tartness of the rhubarb.  A+.