Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

"It's not sour, I really like it." my 8 year old voice said after taking a huge bite of rhubarb in a friend's backyard. Meanwhile my jaw resisted chewing the super sour and crunchy vegetable. I took a sip of water to help dilute the face I was trying so hard not to make. My friend was doing the same thing. Childhood rhubarb eating contests are a very serious thing. "How can anyone eat this? It's so sour." I thought to myself as I chewed through the pain. Little did I know that baking that gross plant can make a fabulous pie.

Rhubarb is a very misunderstood vegetable. It was often used to add bulk to more expensive fruits and to be used as a thickener. Strawberry Rhubarb pie is one of my favorites with its varying textures and fruity sauce. It's also very easy to temper the sourness of the Rhubarb. It can be found at most grocery stores in the produce section next to the celery. You may need to ask, and you will be glad you did!

If you read along with my last post, you will understand my quest for the ability to make really good pie crust. However, once I had the ability I realized that pie crust is actually not my favorite thing. It's like climbing Mount Everest and not even liking the few. That is a bit of a dramatic comparison, but you understand. It is not traditional, but I like to put a streusel topping on the top of this pie. It adds a nice sugary crunch and a pretty homey look. 

Ingredients

1 pie crust, get my recipe here

1 lb of fresh or frozen strawberries

1 thick stalk of rhubarb

1 lemon

1 cup of white sugar, divided

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Topping:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

First, clean and chop the rhubarb. Take all the stems off the of the strawberries and wash them well. 

Place the rhubarb in a pan with about 1/3 of a cup of water and 3/4 of the sugar. Let this boil until it is tender and the mixture has thickened. 

 This is what the rhubarb should look like when it is done. Sick and sour to begin with and ooey gooey fruity in the end.

 Slice the strawberries in half, making them all about the same size.

Use the zest of the lemon and the remaining sugar. Then add the juice from the lemon and the cornstarch.

 Then add in the rhubarb mixture. It should be a little runny. Don't worry the cornstarch will do its job in the oven.

 I bake the pie crust at 350 for about 10 minutes just to make sure it doesn't get too soggy. Poke the raw crust with a fork so the steam won't build up and cause pillows in your crust.

While the crust is baking, combine all the topping ingredients together. If it is a bit dry, just add a small splash of milk.

When the crust is very lightly golden brown, add the pie filling.

 Then dot the top of the pie with the streusel topping.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the top has a bit of a golden crust. 

 

This looks like a much more palatable rhubarb eating contest!