May 17 2010
Strawberry & Rhubarb Pie
At work, I buy produce from my regular food service providers when I can’t get supplies from Scott, our local organic farmer. When Scott is producing we buy all that we can! So far this season we’ve had lettuces, micro greens, kale, rainbow chard, rhubarb and purple asparagus.
During our off season I was able to talk Scott into doing a weekly supply just for me–much as I would like to grow my own produce, I just don’t get enough sunlight at home to make it work. I was hoping that Scott would make CSA’s available to more families nearby, but so many people grow their own food here already, and he doesn’t think that the added time required will be balanced by sufficient income to make it a worthwhile option across the board. (In addition to growing for us, Scott also opens up his farm to allow others to pick their own produce at a lower cost. During the summer, his wife also makes jams, jellies, breads, and they grow flowers.) Needless to say, I’m glad he’s making an exception for me!
We’ve been getting rhubarb at the lodge from Stoney Hollow Farm (Scott’s place), so when the strawberry people from South Carolina were selling their tasty strawberries on the side of the road, I couldn’t pass up the potential match.
I grabbed a recipe for Strawberry & Rhubarb Pie that we had at the lodge. The flavor is good, but I didn’t love the consistency. In particular, this pie filling needed to set up in a refrigerator and I really wanted to enjoy my pie while it was still warm. Perhaps that’s my mistake, but next time I’ll sleuth around for another recipe. The good news is, if you don’t mind a cold Strawberry & Rhubarb pie, this recipe is simple. To keep it simple and quick for me (and my apologies to the purists out there), I used ready-made pie crust.
1-1/4 cup sugar
5 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 tbsp. butter pastry for double crust pie
In large mixing bowl stir together sugar, cornstarch, salt and ground nutmeg. Add rhubarb pieces and sliced strawberries, toss gently to coat fruit. Let stand 15 minutes. Prepare and roll out pastry. Line a 9″ pie plate with half of the pastry. Trim pastry to edge of the pie plate. Pour fruit mixture into pie plate. Dot with butter and place pastry on top of filling, either as a lattice or as a whole piece with slits cut in top to allow steam to escape. Seal and flute edges.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
I’m too tired to read this yet, but I am oogling the picture. I know I can make this pie, but there’s something about looking at your sexy food that kind of makes me want to marry you!