Rhubarb lattice pie

Lavey chef Shane Smith brings us his delicious recipe for rhubarb lattice pie.

A WORD FROM THE CHEF

Rhubarb is traditionally popular ingredient for Irish desserts, particularly as it grows so well in the Irish climate. Here Shane brings a sophisticated finish to a dish packed with flavour.

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 8)

Sweet pastry

125g butter

125g caster sugar

1 medium egg

Dash vanilla essence

250g plain flour

For the Rhubarb compote

1kg chopped rhubarb (2 bunches)

30g caster sugar

zest of 1/4 orange

Juice of 1 orange (70ml)

1 cardamom pod

Method

For the sweet pastry, cream the butter and sugar until soft and creamy. Add the egg, vanilla and combine. Finally add the flour and mix until there is no trace of flour left. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

For the rhubarb compote, cut the rhubarb stalks into bite-sized chunks.

Place these in a pot with the sugar, zest and juice of orange.

With the back of a knife crush the cardamom pod and remove the seeds. Discard the pod and crush the seeds and add to the rhubarb

Cook on a low heat until the rhubarb begins to soften, remove place into the pie dish and chill.

Tip: Don’t cook the rhubarb all the way as you are going to bake it for a further 25 minutes.

Remove pastry from the fridge and knead to soften, roll on a floured work surface and cut out 10-12 long strips. Arrange these in a lattice design across the top of the chilled rhubarb compote. Place in the fridge for five minutes.

Once the pastry is rested, egg-wash and sprinkle with caster sugar and bake at 180ºC / 160ºC Fan / Gas 3 / 320ºF for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with a spoon of semi whipped cream.

ABOUT THE CHEF

Shane Smith from Lavey can be seen on Today with Maura and Daithí on RTÉOne. You can contact him via email: shane@chefshanesmith.ie