Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ... Two Tart Flavors Come Together Into A Sweet Treat!
Two Picking Season's That Are Months Apart And They Blend Into A Beautiful Pie ... Amazing!
As a young gal I would freeze Strawberries from the spring pick like most everyone did. I had a patch of Rhubarb in my yard and once that was ripe and ready to harvest I would make my yummy Strawberry Rhubarb pie. The two flavors complimented each other with the somewhat sweet tart Strawberry to the definitely tartness of the Rhubarb. You definitely don't want to shorten the sugar on this pie unless you really like the sour tart side.
I have seen this pie offered in the grocery store occasionally . I prefer my homemade version.
My husband is currently asking that I not add another 20 lbs to him by baking. He loves pie and if I bake he will eat!
photo is compliments of: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:06-filling_...
The Place To Start Is With The Crust
If you don't want the challenge of making a homemade pie crust there are a few good ones on the grocery shelves. From boxed mixes where you just add water to the already prepared pie crusts you'll find in the cooler section. Just open and place in your pie pan, fill and bake...it's just that simple these days!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup of chilled shortening
- approx 6 Tablespoons of cold water
Instructions
- Sift flour, measure, add salt and sift again. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in half of the shortening until mixture resembles course corn meal. I've found that my food processor will also do this very nicely. Add the rest of the shortening and cut in again coarsely or until particles are the size of peas.
- Sprinkle water, 1 Tablespoon at a time over small portions of flour/shortening mixture pressing with a fork until they cling together, moving aside pieces and sprinkling water until all dry flour/shortening has clung together. Do NOT stir or mix just pressed together as you add the cold water. Keep pressing particles together as you add the water moving the parts that have clung together aside. Your mixture should not be wet or slippery. At this point you can press all together with your fingers or turn out on waxed paper and press to make a ball. Then chill the dough and prepare your apples.
- To prepare pastry use 1/2 of this recipe. It will make one 9 inch pie shell. Roll out on a lightly floured board. Roll into a circle approx. 1/8 th inch thick. It should be rolled 2 inches larger than the top of your pie pan, which you can turn upside down and lay on your crust to size. Once you have the proper size you can fold your pastry in half and then half again, place in your pie pan; unfold it and fit it loosely. Trim the edge leaving about 1 inch to hang over edge of pan. Put your cooked Strawberry Rhubarb filling inside your unbaked pastry crust, and proceed with the pastry that's left to make your top crust.
- Once your top crust is in place this is where I decorate my pie with left over pastry adornments. For this pie you can cut out strawberries to place on the top of your top crust.
- Place top crust over filled bottom crust and trim to 1 inch around. Crimp edges with fingers to make a scalloped decorated edge. Beat 1 egg with about 1/2 tablespoon of water until well beaten and somewhat frothy. Brush this egg mixture onto your pastry crust to cover, including scalloped edge.
- Bake at 375 degrees on center rack in, preheated oven for approx 40 - 50 minutes. If scalloped edge starts to get to brown cover this area with pieces of tin foil to reflect the heat. Test your pie through the vent slits with a fork to see if your filling is done. The fork should slide through them easily and find no resistance.
- Remove your pretty pie from oven and cool on a baking rack. It will have a beautiful lightly brown glossy appearance from the egg wash.
- Enjoy with ice cream or whipped cream.
- This recipe came from the cookbook my Mother gave to me. She has a date in it of 1955 with a first print of 1942. All of the recipes in it are from scratch. This book has 917 pages in it on just about any food that was made in that era.
A Pie Pastry Plus
How About Dressing Your Pie Up With A Lattice Pie Crust? Make your pie right up to the filling then roll out your remaining dough into a circle 2 inches larger than the top of your pie. Cut 1/2" to 1" strips and put a lattice across the top of your pie. Pretty!
Just So You Know
Like Potatoes and Tomatoes the leaves of Rhubarb are POISONOUS!
Strawberry Rhubarb Filling - Sweet & Tart All In One...Just Add Sugar!
Both Strawberries and Rhubarb have an old fashioned flair about them. Blended together in a pie they make for an old fashioned treat.
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds untrimmed) rhubarb
- in 1/2-inch thick slices
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water for pie top glaze
- 1/4 tsp salt (if you use salted butter to dot your filling you can leave this out)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Stir together rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, lemon, salt and tapioca in a large bowl. Mound filling inside bottom pie crust and dot with bits of unsalted butter. Roll second half of pie dough into an 11-inch circle and cut decorative slits in it. Transfer it to center over the pie filling. Trim top and bottom pie dough so that their overhang beyond the pie plate lip is only 1/2-inch. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself and crimp it decoratively.
- To decorate the rim of your crust I most often use a 3 finger pull. I place my thumb and first finger about an inch apart then pull the dough gently between them. This makes a rippled ring around the pie giving it a decorative look. See above photo of one of my pies.
Some History On Rhubarb
The first recorded recipe that has been found according to Alan Davidson (Oxford Companion to Food) appears to be in this 1806-7 cookbook by Maria Eliza Rundell, for Rhubarb Tart. Before that Rhubarb was used for medicinal purposes. It can be traced back to china in the colder regions. An early herbal listing shows it to be about 2700 B.C.
History Of The Strawberry
The European settlers first discovered strawberry in the year 1588, in America. Since the fruit was easily available and abundant in the wild, the local Americans didn't cultivate it commercially. It was only after the demand from the European settlers, that the native Americans started its cultivation.
Try It ...It's Not Bitter...It's Quite Sweet
You Just Might Like It!
Inquiring Minds Want To Know
If you've ever wondered where some of our food originated like I do there's all kinds of resources to find your answer. I've included a couple of links for the main ingredients to my Strawberry Rhubarb pie. I've actually learned a little bit more than I knew by reading through them myself.
- Food Project - History of Rhubarb
A History Of Rhubarb - Strawberries
A History Of Strawberries
