To think of all pies that I’ve made and ate from fruit, to ice cream to one even made with vegan cream cheese I’ve yet to experiment with rhubarb. I couldn’t resist the bright rhubarb in Scottsdale at the Farmer’s Market a few weeks back. I knew I just had to test my skills on this spring classic for our portuguese style barbecue dinner with rice and beans, summer squash skewers, steak and chicken, and an endless supply of red and white wine. This Strawberry-Rhubarb pie was still warm and the bitterness was sweetened by ripe strawberries and brown sugar. We just needed a scoop of ice cream, but the fudge brought back from Mt. Lemmon was just as delicious!
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients {Makes 1-9″ pie}
Double Crust – Pate Brisee
4 cups – Rhubarb {cut into 3/4″ thick pieces}
3 cups – Strawberries {coarsely chopped}
1/2 cup – Dark Brown Sugar {packed}
3/4 cup – Granulated Sugar {plus more for sprinkling}
1/4 cup – Cornstarch
Pinch of Salt
2 tablespoons – Lemon Juice
2 tablespoons – Unsalted butter {cut into small chunks}
Egg & Splash of milk
Recipe
Pre-heat oven to 375*F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough to a 12 inch round and fit into pie plate, pressing into the edges. Chill dough for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, both sugars, cornstarch, salt, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Toss until the fruit is completely covered in a the sugar and cornstarch mixture. Don’t worry the cornstarch will dissolve and the sugars will blend to make a juice. Pour the filling into the chilled pate brisee and dot top with butter. Refrigerate while rolling out top crust.
On a lightly floured surface roll the remaining pate brisee a 1/8″ thick and cut into at least 15 1/2″ strips {If you can tell my lattice strips weren’t too pretty, I had some trouble with the texture of the dough even though it tasted just fine} Weave a lattice using the strips of dough, and trim leaving a 1/2″ edge. Press the top and bottom pieces together to seal, and finish the edge in the style you wish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Whisk together the egg and milk, and brush onto the lattice and edge of pie shell. {Be careful, don’t let it become a pool} Sprinkle with a generous amount of sugar.
Bake the pie on a baking sheet lined with foil, until juices begin bubbling in center and bottom crust is golden {about 1 1/2 hours – tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly} Remove and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before serving. This will help the juices thicken a bit, making it perfectly served with vanilla ice cream. Store covered in the refrigerator.
