On Saturday morning, the vendors on 9th Street had 2 pound boxes of gorgeous strawberries for $1.50. Which made me peckish for strawberry rhubarb pie – problem was, no one had rhubarb. Then I got the bright idea of hitting up Anastasio’s Produce on Christian, and they delivered! (As a matter of fact, they even had fiddlehead ferns – which will warrant a return visit and a future post!) Getting back to the pie – this time I switched it up and used brown and granulated sugars and grated orange zest for flavor – I think it’s my best yet!
The crust:
- 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 stick of very cold butter, cut up into small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup ice water
The filling:
- 2 cups sliced rhubarb
- 3 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
- Put flour, butter, and salt in a food processor with a metal blade pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water until the dough begins to clump together. Form into a ball, place in plastic bag, and work dough into a flat disc. Refrigerate for an hour.
- In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugars, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and vanilla – toss gently to mix.
- Roll out two thirds of the dough to fit an 9″ pie dish, ease pastry onto plate. Spoon the fruit into the pastry, dot with butter. Roll out remaining pastry and cut out long 1/2″ strips. Weave the lattice crust, tuck under the crust and crimp with your fingers or a fork. Lightly brush the dough with egg wash.
- Place pie on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400º oven for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 350º and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes until crust is golden.
