the ultimate strawberry rhubarb pie

I love all kinds of fruit pies, but there’s something special about strawberry rhubarb. For one, rhubarb is only available fresh for a very short time each year. The frozen stuff works if you’ve got a craving, but really, it doesn’t compare.

Food can evoke so many different emotional experiences. There’s the excitement of discovering something new and the comfort of something long familiar. Perhaps the most moving of all is the dish that evokes the memory of a special event or a particular person from our past. When I eat, or even think of strawberry rhubarb pie, it feels as though my grandmother’s spirit is right beside me. Grandma Ethel took great pride in her strawberry rhubarb pie.

She Served it with much fanfare, and rightfully so.

Here’s the recipe for the most fabulous strawberry rhubarb pie I’ve ever tasted.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (discard any leafy ends)

• 3 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, and cut into ½ inch pieces

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

• 3 Tablespoons minute tapioca

• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

• 1 tablespoon very finely chopped fresh parsley

• 1 recipe perfect flaky pie crust (see below)

• 3 Tablespoons butter

• 1 beaten egg

• 1 teaspoon water

• Extra sugar for sprinkling on top of crust

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients, everything up to the pie crust, In a large bowl and toss them together well. You can use a large spoon. I like using my hands.

• Roll out half the pastry and use it to line your metal, 9 inch deep dish pie plate.

• Fill the crust evenly with the filling.

• Break up the butter into small bits and dot the top of the filling evenly.

• Roll out the second half of the crust and cover the pie, or cut strips and weave a lattice.

• Either way, work the rim of the dough, going round the dish, joining top and bottom. Then, use a sharp flat knife or kitchen scissors to evenly trim the rim.

• Using your fingers, flute the edge.

• Beat the egg in a small bowl with a splash of cold water and brush the entire top of the pie with the egg wash.

• Sprinkle the crust with the granulated white sugar.

• Optional: Sprinkle the crust with pearl sugar for a pretty finish and a pleasant little sugary crunch.

• Bake the pie at 425° for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375° and bake the pie for another 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up.

• Remove the pie from the oven and set it on a cooling rack so that the air can circulate all around it, and allow the pie to rest until it reaches room temperature.

• Chill the pie in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight. If you try to cut it too soon it will fall apart.

  Trust me on that one.

Perfect Pie Crust

With most pie crust recipes, I always feel like I’m fighting to have enough dough to make it work. This recipe makes more. Feel free to roll out the leftover dough and cut it with cookie cutter of your choice. Use some egg wash to attach them to the top of the pie, decoratively, and then brush them with the egg wash as well.

Click here for the recipe for my perfect pie crust. (coming very soon!)