When I was young, my mother always made strawberry rhubarb freezer jam. I loved it. It tasted like fresh strawberries. Wonderful. But strawberry rhubarb pie was always, always, always a huge taste disappointment for me. Because the strawberries were cooked, and didn’t taste right anymore. Strawberry jam was also something bleagh for me. Ugh. And then I discovered that, in France, rhubarb banana jam is “a thing,” as in really rather popular. Recipes for it range from the simple to more complex confections. The next time I started to make a rhubarb custard pie and didn’t have enough rhubarb (end of season, plants dying back, and all out), the lightbulb went off. Why not banana? Banana custard is great! Rhubarb custard is great! Together? Fantastic! And it was! I posted it to Facebook, and people wanted to recipe. I said it would have to wait until I found more rhubarb next season, and it turned out a friend still had some in their yard! So, the recipe is here now, and people don’t have to wait six months to get it. You should tell Dan thanks. 🙂
RHUBARB BANANA CUSTARD PIE
Prepare single piecrust for 10-inch pie plate. (I used a gluten-free crust, nothing fancy.) Then start with the rhubarb.
2 cups chopped rhubarb (chopped cross-wise, in thin slices no more than 1/4 inch)
1 cup sugar (if you don’t like sweets, reduce to 3/4 cup, but no further)
Mix. Let sit at least one hour, until juice has formed.
Mix in well:
4 medium to large eggs
1/8 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or cinnamon, both are optional)
Slice, and fold in gently:
3 slightly green or barely just-ripe bananas, medium size (if large, use only 2)
Pour entire mixture into the pie crust. Preheat oven to 425F. As soon as You’ve put the filled pieplate in the oven, reduce heat to 340F or 350F (depending on how hot your oven runs). Bake for 50 minutes until pie puffs up slightly and has browned edges. Test readiness by inserting a toothpick halfway between the edge and the center. If toothpick comes out clean, pie is ready.
Remove from oven and cool to eat. Mine was fine when still slightly warm. I, personally, think it’s best served slightly warm. However, it is also pretty good at room temperature. We haven’t had it last long enough to serve cold.
UPDATED October 19, 2015. (This is what I get for rushing writing when I’m half asleep. I left out several important words, like “cup” and “teaspoon.” Sigh.)