Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. So, this happened.

It started with a couple of rhubarb roots and grew into this after just a few months. Jurassic Park. Or, you know, just rhubarb. And by “just rhubarb,” I mean beautiful, tart, pink, sassy filling for the pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry rhubarb pie with a crumbly streusel topping to be exact. You know me and streusel. I’m all about the streusel. But don’t worry. There’s a regular crust option too.

Pie Crust

Double this recipe and divide it into two balls if you’d rather have a regular pie crust instead of streusel on top.

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons ice-cold water (approximate)

Place flour, butter, and salt into a food processor. Pulse until crumbly – about the size of peas. Slowly add water and process just until the dough starts to come together. Remove the dough from the food processor and gently push it together into a disk shape.

Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Flour the countertop and roll the disk of dough into about a 10.5-inch circle. Carefully fold the pie crust in half and in half again. This will make getting it over to the pie plate easier. Place in a pie plate and unfold. Fold all the edges under and then crimp all the way around.

It is important to par-bake pie crust. If you don’t, pies will have a sticky bottom which is not nearly as yummy as a flakey crust. To do this, Place a piece of foil or parchment over the crust. Fill the pie with a pound of beans or pie weights. Weighing down the pie crust is important to prevent the pie crust from shrinking and to keep the bottom from puffing up. Bake for 15 minutes with the pie weights in it and then remove the foil & beans and bake for another 10 minutes.

After beans have been used for weighing down a pie crust, they are no longer good for making soup. Save them for future pies and from this day forward they shall be known as “The Pie Beans”.

If you prefer a pie crust top for your pie, just double this pie crust recipe, split it in half to make two disks, and use one for the bottom and one for the top. Par-bake the bottom without crimping the edges, cool, fill, and then add the second crust to the top. Fold the top crust edges under and then crimp them. I also recommend beating one egg and brushing it over the top pie crust, then adding large sugar crystals on top. The sugar brings a great balance since rhubarb is tart.

Pie Filling

• 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, diced
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

In a large saucepan, place all filling ingredients. Stir and allow to sit for about 20-30 minutes. This gives time for the sugars to do their magic, bringing out all the fruit juices. Tapioca also needs to sit this long to do its part.

Heat over medium-high heat while stirring. Continue to stir and watch for the filling to come to a boil. After it starts to boil, remove it from heat and pour it into the par-baked pie crust.

Streusel Topping

• 1 stick unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

To make streusel, place ingredients into a food processor and pulse just until they are well combined but don’t let the crumbles get bigger than about the size of peas. Watch closely so you don’t overprocess.

Line a baking sheet with foil & place it on the lower oven rack so your pie doesn’t drip onto your oven.

Bake pie at 400°F for about 40 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.

If you can wait, it is best to allow it to cool for a couple of hours so it can set. If you cannot wait, I won’t judge. I will only judge if you don’t use the streusel topping option.