Old-fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Yeah!  Spring Break is here and I have some time now to tend the garden.  First up, harvest some rhubarb. My favorite way to use rhubarb is in a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.  Usually in the interest of time, I'd look up a recipe online, but since I'm on break and feeling unrushed, I thought it'd be a nice change of pace to sit at the breakfast table with a bowl of cereal and flip through the pages of my Dessert Binder.  

Confession:  I hoard recipes thinking someday I'll get around to making them.  Sometimes it actually happens, as in today!  I found the perfect recipe from Saveur magazine (yikes, July/Aug 1998 issue) celebrating spunky grandma, Louise Piper, an Iowa State Fair Pie Queen.  When the article claimed, "Since the age of 15, she [Louise] has remained faithful to her Betty Crocker pie crust...", my interest was piqued.  I have a couple of pie crust recipes that I think are darn good, but 50 years of baking the same pie crust???  I gotta check this out.  Plus, this pie crust has no butter or lard!  Plus, this pie won a blue ribbon at the mother of all state fairs.  Spoiler alert:  I was not disappointed!

Old-fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie  
Adapted from Louise Piper's recipe in Saveur magazine

Makes one 9" pie

Prepare pie crust first as it needs to chill a bit in the refrigerator before filling with fruit.

For the pie crust:

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (342g)

1 teaspoon salt

In a measuring cup, add, but do not stir together:

2/3 cup vegetable oil

6 tablespoons milk

Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the oil/milk mixture. Mix together with a fork until evenly moistened. Then gather gently and knead just until the dough comes together. Divide dough into two balls, with one slightly larger for the bottom crust. Flatten each ball of dough into a 5-6" round disk.

Starting with the bottom crust, center the disk on top of a sheet of parchment paper, then place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of disk to prevent sticking. Roll by pivoting the rolling pin from the center of the disk and making a 90° arc, i.e., rolling the pin from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. Give the parchment paper a quarter turn counterclockwise, i.e., the 3 o'clock position moves to 12 o'clock. Continue in this manner until dough is approximately 12" in diameter. Reposition the plastic wrap as needed as the pastry round gets bigger.

Peel off the plasic wrap. Gently roll dough around the rolling pin, pulling away the bottom parchment paper. Lift the rolling pin over the pie plate and unroll it to fit. Trim the edges, leaving a 3/4" overhang. Patch any holes, tears or thin spots with dough trimmings. Refrigerate.

Roll the other disk into a 12" round for the top crust. Slide the whole thing - parchment paper, top crust and plastic wrap - onto a rimless cookie sheet and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

For the filling:

Combine together in a large mixing bowl:

1 1/4 cups sugar (250g)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour (43g)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Add to flour mixture and toss well to coat evenly:

3 cups hulled and halved strawberries

2 cups thinly sliced rhubarb

Remove the bottom crust from the refrigerator and pour in the strawberries and rhubarb mixture. Scatter on top:

2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Cover with remaining pie crust by first removing the plastic wrap on top. Then gently flip crust on top of filled pie, and peel off the parchment paper. Pinch crust edges together to seal. Trim the doubled edge to make an even overhang of 3/4 inch. Then tuck the overhang underneath itself so the folded edge of the pie crust is even with the edge of the pie pan. Crimp or flute the edge of the crust. Make 3-4 two inch slits on top to allow steam to escape.  

Brush top crust with:

1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked together

Sprinkle pie top with:

2 teaspoons sugar, regular or sanding

Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes.  I like to place the baking sheet on top of pre-heated pizza tiles to help brown the crust bottom. Using a glass pie pan allows you to check for browning on the sides and bottom.  If edge of crust browns too quickly, cover with strips of foil to prevent burning. Allow pie to cool to room temperature before serving.

Notes:  My family loved this pie, especially the crust which was crisp and flaky.  When told the crust had no butter, my daughter said, "But it smells buttery!"  Hubbie also had no inkling it was butter-free. This was super easy to make, no need to pull out the food processor and easy to roll out, no need to chill the dough beforehand.  You could probably even put the ball of dough directly in the pie plate and press it in. 

Make sure you use a regular 9" pie pan, ie not a deep dish pie pan.  I realized my mistake when I added the fruit and it barely filled the pan, so I added another 1 cup of rhubarb and 2 cups of strawberries.  It came out a bit sloshy, but didn't detract from the taste one bit.

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