Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Many years have passed since the last time my family went to pick strawberries at a local farm and came home with so many that we canned strawberry jam, strawberry sauce and froze whole strawberries in Seal-A-Meal bags for two days. When we arrived home with our pickings, we had already eaten so many in the field (only the most perfect succulent ones) that we were well sated before the work began.

I developed this pie a few years after that with my friend, Susan, from Chicago. We adapted it from a recipe for rhubarb pie that we found in one of her cookbooks, James Beard’s American Cookery. We decided to make this pie at the height of strawberry season (and rhubarb season) when I mentioned an experience Saul and I had at The William Penn Inn on one of our anniversaries. We had worked at the Inn part-time, Saul as a waiter, and I as a bookkeeper, during our college years to earn extra money. We went there on special occasions after that during the early part of our marriage and continue to dine there to this day. As a matter of fact, we just went there for brunch this past Sunday to celebrate our friend Irv’s and his mother, Fran’s, birthdays.

At one particular anniversary dinner years ago, the waitress recited a litany of elaborate desserts. I chose a triple chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce and Saul chose the strawberry rhubarb pie. I commented that I couldn’t believe he had chosen such a homely dessert with all the options available, but he assured me that he remembered this seasonal specialty and knew exactly what he was doing. He was right! When I tasted his slice of pie, I was as wowed as he was over it.

This pie is my daughter, Jessica’s, all-time favorite, except for the time I was in a great hurry and forgot the sugar. Even though she loves all things tart, not even she could eat it. Ari called today to ask me to post this right away because a friend of his went strawberry picking today. In the meantime, he gave her my recipe for strawberry soup, which I will post on a future entry.

I highly suggest putting a large pan under the pie while it is baking. It almost always drips over and causes a huge mess in the oven. If you leave the pan with water in it for a few minutes, the stickiest mess dissolves easily.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

• 3 cups rhubarb stalks, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices
• 3 cups thickly sliced, rinsed, and cleaned strawberries
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. grated fresh orange rind (use a microplane)
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. butter or unsalted margarine
• Unbaked pastry for two-crust 10-inch pie (see below)
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp. sugar

Toss the rhubarb and strawberry slices with the sugar, tapioca, salt and rind.

Turn into a pastry-lined pan.

Dot with small pieces of butter or margarine.

Top with pastry and crimp the top and bottom edges together, fluting decoratively. If desired, cut small shapes from extra pastry to further decorate.

Cut decorative slits in the top for steam to escape.

Whip egg and sugar together with a fork and use a pastry brush to apply this glaze to the top, adding extra pastry shapes if desired and glazing over them as well.

Bake at 450°F. for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350°F. and bake for about 25-30 minutes longer. Cool before serving. Serve warm or cold, but this is especially good warm topped with premium vanilla ice cream.

I have been using the same, simple recipe from my junior high school cookbook (Food and Nutrition for the Family, School District of Philadelphia, Division of Home Economics, 1949) since I first made it in home economics class. The crust is tastier with butter than margarine, but both are more than satisfactory. I suggest using a pastry cloth with a stockinette covered rolling pin for the best results.

Two-Crust Pie Pastry

• 2 cups flour (sift before measuring)
• 1/3 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/3 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
• 1/3 cup pareve unsalted Fleischmann’s margarine
• 1/3 cup ice water

Sift together flour and salt. Cut the shortening and margarine into pat-size pieces and add to flour. Cut them into the flour using a fork, pastry blender, two knives, or paddle beater on electric mixer set at lowest speed until mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the water a little at a time, mixing lightly until the dough is moist enough to stick together when pressed with the fingers.

Divide the dough into two portions. Place one portion on a floured pastry cloth, shape into a round and roll lightly from the center to the edge until about 1/8 inch in thickness. The circle of pastry should be at least 1 inch larger than the pie plate.

Line a 10-inch pie plate with the pastry, pressing it gently against the sides and bottom of the pan. Be careful not to stretch the dough, or the shell will shrink and draw away from the sides of the pan during baking.

For other recipes if pre-baking: trim pastry from edge of pan and flute decoratively by pressing between the fingers or with the tines of a fork. Line with aluminum foil and pie weights or dry beans. Bake in a hot oven (450°F.) for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool before filling.