I am a major blogging slacker, but I haven't given up on this blog just yet. In my defense, I've been busy doing better things than blogging, like going to Paris, where I ate delightful pastries and pretended that if I wear a scarf I can pass as European.
In short, the blog has been justifiably neglected. Not to mention April and May give us the best weather Missouri has to offer, so I decided to soak up the sixty-degree days when I could. Now that it's miserably hot, I might redouble my efforts with this blog. Or perhaps I will slack into blogging oblivion...
Several weeks ago, I made strawberry rhubarb pie (when a display at Whole Foods told me to make it). Rhubarb is a rare find at your average grocery store, but it's common at places like Whole Foods and at farmers' markets. Needless to say, this pie can get a bit expensive, but it is worth every penny. The best pie I've ever eaten was strawberry rhubarb pie at the Flying Star cafe in Albuquerque. When done right, this pie is sweet, tart and the desired soft-but-not-runny texture.
As usual, I made two pies because one is never enough. So I gathered two containers of strawberries and five stalks of rhubarb, which is more than enough for two pies. I also gathered sugar, tapioca, butter and salt.
I tried a strawberry huller for the first time when I made these pies. Switching back and forth between the huller and a knife slowed me down; it was more efficient (though admittedly a bit more wasteful) to chop off the top of the strawberries before slicing them in half.
Then I cut the rhubarb into one-inch pieces. It's fine if the rhubarb is a bit green; the pie will still look and taste amazing.
The red filling looked very pretty.
Until I added half a cup of tapioca.
And two and a half cups of sugar.
Then I added the filling to a pie dish that I lined with my tried-and-true pie crust and dotted the filling with two tablespoons of butter.
And I made a lattice crust for a classic look.
Then I brushed the crust with egg whites and sprinkled it with one tablespoon of sugar. This pie is an excellent candidate for a topping of coarse white sugar (which is how it was made at the Flying Star Cafe). You can get this sugar at fancy stores like William Sonoma and Sur la Table.
When the pie came out of the oven, it had the perfect rustic look I am going for with a classic pie like this. The touches of red filling make this pie look quite appetizing.
And when cut, this pie came out in perfect slices that were not runny. It was delicious with vanilla bean ice cream.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (for one pie)
Tried-and-true pie dough
2 1/2 cups strawberries
2 1/2 cups rhubarb
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (alternatively, leave out the pinch of salt and use salted butter)
Remove the stems and cut strawberries in half. Chop rhubarb into one-inch pieces. Mix with sugar and tapioca. Add a pinch of salt. Roll out pie dough and line the bottom of a pie dish with it. Pour in filling and dot with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Roll out the remaining dough, and add a pricked or lattice top. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is soft but not mushy.
Enjoy!
