Strawberry Rhubarb Pie II
From: http://sweetmary.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/05/strawberry_rhub.html
OK, this is the last strawberry post for a while. As you can tell, I was super busy last weekend with all of those freshly picked strawberries. Before the weekend was over, I had 12 jars of jam, three containers of frozen strawberries, shortcakes, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. I am now on sugar/butter detox after eating so many desserts in such a short time frame!
I certainly do look forward to my annual strawberry rhubarb pie, though. You can read about the pie I made last year around this time HERE. That pie was a beauty with it's lovely lattice top. It had a different kind of sweet taste due to the use of brown sugar in the filling. I liked it very much; however, this is the recipe I adore more than any other I have tried. If you can get perfect strawberries and perfect rhubarb, this pie is absolutely incredible and will garner over-the-top reactions from even the most critical pie enthusiast. The combination of cornstarch and quick-cooking tapioca ensure that the filling will set up amazingly well. And, quite frankly, the fruit will speak for itself. There is nothing like the combination of strawberries and rhubarb for a powerfully evocative sweet-tart taste that you will look forward to all year long, as I do.
Now, I'm not going to lie. I had some complications last Sunday when I went to make my pie dough. We had a wave of humidity that descended upon East Providence in one nasty swoop. And, of course, my third floor apartment sucked in the humidity of the whole house and it made it damn near impossible to roll my dough because the butter was melting faster than I could work. Mind you, I thought I was going to beat any potential heat because it was only 9:30 a.m. But, what can you do? Weather (especially heat and humidity) can really affect baking. I was determined to make this pie, so I made some more dough and downsized to a smaller pie pan so I wouldn't have to stretch the dough any further than necessary. Then, I threw every ingredient and piece of equipment into my freezer for a spell to keep things cold at least for a few minutes. The only other problem I encountered was crimping the edges. The dough and butter were just too soft for any shape to form properly. So, this pie came out a tad ugly and misshapen around the edges by my standards; however, it did not affect the taste at all.
I brought this pie to work to eat after lunch with my team and, unfortunately, forgot my camera. Therefore, I didn't catch an image of a nice slice. Oh well. You can just imagine the vibrancy of the strawberry and rhubarb melded together in a nice flaky buttery crust. I snagged the last piece, which didn't last very long after I returned home. Man, was that pie delicious!
For the Pie Crust recipe, click HERE. This is the one I always used. So, it's tried and true. Don't forget to double the recipe because you need a double crust. This recipe is from my 2003 Williams & Sonoma Pie and Tart book (which has never let me down).
For the Filling
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
pinch of salt
3 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
3 cups rhubarb, trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
After rolling out the bottom pie crust and laying it into a pie dish, make sure you remember to brush the bottom with a little whisked egg. This cooks a bit while baking and prevents a soggy bottom crust. Store the pie crust in the fridge while you get the filling ready, especially if it is hot.
In a small bowl, stir the sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, and salt together. Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and toss to distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pan. Dot with butter.
Roll the top crust out. Lay over fruit. Do this by rolling half of the dough around your rolling pin. Lift it up off your work surface and position it over the pie. Unfold. Trim the edge neatly. Leave 1 inch of over hang. Then, fold the edge of the top round under the bottom round. Crimp edges to seal. Brush the top of the crust with water. Sprinkle sugar over the top crust. Then, cut your vents however you wish. You can also make vents by using small cookie cutters when rolling the dough out. Just be careful when you lay the dough over the fruit, as it will stretch a bit and you want to keep your cut out shapes in tact.
Put the finished pie into the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it firms up. Place an oven rack in the bottom third of your oven. Preheat to 350 F. Place the pie on a baking sheet lined with foil (in case it bubbles over). Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, about 50-60 minutes. Cool completely on a rack so the pie will set up. Serve at room temperature or rewarm.
OK, this is the last strawberry post for a while. As you can tell, I was super busy last weekend with all of those freshly picked strawberries. Before the weekend was over, I had 12 jars of jam, three containers of frozen strawberries, shortcakes, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. I am now on sugar/butter detox after eating so many desserts in such a short time frame!
I certainly do look forward to my annual strawberry rhubarb pie, though. You can read about the pie I made last year around this time HERE. That pie was a beauty with it's lovely lattice top. It had a different kind of sweet taste due to the use of brown sugar in the filling. I liked it very much; however, this is the recipe I adore more than any other I have tried. If you can get perfect strawberries and perfect rhubarb, this pie is absolutely incredible and will garner over-the-top reactions from even the most critical pie enthusiast. The combination of cornstarch and quick-cooking tapioca ensure that the filling will set up amazingly well. And, quite frankly, the fruit will speak for itself. There is nothing like the combination of strawberries and rhubarb for a powerfully evocative sweet-tart taste that you will look forward to all year long, as I do.
Now, I'm not going to lie. I had some complications last Sunday when I went to make my pie dough. We had a wave of humidity that descended upon East Providence in one nasty swoop. And, of course, my third floor apartment sucked in the humidity of the whole house and it made it damn near impossible to roll my dough because the butter was melting faster than I could work. Mind you, I thought I was going to beat any potential heat because it was only 9:30 a.m. But, what can you do? Weather (especially heat and humidity) can really affect baking. I was determined to make this pie, so I made some more dough and downsized to a smaller pie pan so I wouldn't have to stretch the dough any further than necessary. Then, I threw every ingredient and piece of equipment into my freezer for a spell to keep things cold at least for a few minutes. The only other problem I encountered was crimping the edges. The dough and butter were just too soft for any shape to form properly. So, this pie came out a tad ugly and misshapen around the edges by my standards; however, it did not affect the taste at all.
For the Pie Crust recipe, click HERE. This is the one I always used. So, it's tried and true. Don't forget to double the recipe because you need a double crust. This recipe is from my 2003 Williams & Sonoma Pie and Tart book (which has never let me down).
For the Filling
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca
pinch of salt
3 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
3 cups rhubarb, trimmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
After rolling out the bottom pie crust and laying it into a pie dish, make sure you remember to brush the bottom with a little whisked egg. This cooks a bit while baking and prevents a soggy bottom crust. Store the pie crust in the fridge while you get the filling ready, especially if it is hot.
In a small bowl, stir the sugar, cornstarch, tapioca, and salt together. Place the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the sugar mixture and toss to distribute evenly. Immediately transfer to the dough-lined pan. Dot with butter.
Roll the top crust out. Lay over fruit. Do this by rolling half of the dough around your rolling pin. Lift it up off your work surface and position it over the pie. Unfold. Trim the edge neatly. Leave 1 inch of over hang. Then, fold the edge of the top round under the bottom round. Crimp edges to seal. Brush the top of the crust with water. Sprinkle sugar over the top crust. Then, cut your vents however you wish. You can also make vents by using small cookie cutters when rolling the dough out. Just be careful when you lay the dough over the fruit, as it will stretch a bit and you want to keep your cut out shapes in tact.
Put the finished pie into the fridge for 20-30 minutes until it firms up. Place an oven rack in the bottom third of your oven. Preheat to 350 F. Place the pie on a baking sheet lined with foil (in case it bubbles over). Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbling, about 50-60 minutes. Cool completely on a rack so the pie will set up. Serve at room temperature or rewarm.
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