Andrew’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Interestingly neither Rhubarb nor Strawberries are true fruits. The flower of a plant forms a true fruit. The flower actually has ovaries below its pistil.  Strawberries are derived from other parts of the flower and they are called ‘false fruits’.  The treasured part of rhubarb is its rose-red stalks, which have nothing to do with the flower at all.  However much we think Rhubarb is as American as apple pie, it was brought to this country in 1820.  The plant itself has been used medicinally by the Chinese for thousands of years.  It appears in the 2700-year-old volume called The Devine Farmer’s Herb-Root Classic. Rhubarb was first grown in Maine and Massachusetts. Now, most commercial production is done in Washington, Oregon, and Michigan. But all over the northern US and Canada, it’s looked forward to every Spring.

The Strawberry Flower

The U.S. grows more Strawberries than any other country in the world by far.  Over a million three hundred tons were grown in 2011 alone.  And while the domesticated strawberry was first grown in Brittany in France, the Americas did contribute to the modern strawberry.  A strawberry called F. Virginiana was imported from Eastern North America to Europe where it was crossed with the local wild strawberry. 

The combination of Rhubarb and Strawberry is so commonplace the one food writer actually published a piece entitled “10 Amazing Rhubarb recipes Without Strawberries!”.  The combination makes so much sense.  The tartness of the Rhubarb combined the sweetness of the strawberry to make a filling that is at turns sweet and tangy.  Andrew worked with a recipe for Rhubarb pie (without the Strawberries)  from “The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book” (Grand Central Publishing 2013).  Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a bakery in Brooklyn that sells nothing by pies.  It was opened by two sisters from South Dakota, Emily and Melissa Elsen. They hail from a family of pie bakers including their grandmother who baked all the pies for their mother’s locally touted restaurant.  Andrew experimented with today’s recipe to make his own version of Strawberry Rhubarb pie.  The first pie he made was a 50/50 mixture of  strawberries to rhubarb.  This yielded a sweeter pie.  The second pie was 1/3 strawberry to 2/3 rhubarb. It is pretty much a matter of personal taste. While I favored the sweet version, Andrew preferred the tart. You choose.

The Elsen Sisters of South Dakota and Brooklyn

Recipe for Andrew’s Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Serves 8. Total time: 2 ½ hours

First, make the pie crust.

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, more for rolling out dough

3/8 teaspoon kosher salt

15 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

6 tablespoons of ice water

1. To make dough: In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt just to combine. Add butter and use a pastry blender until chickpea-size pieces form. Add 3 to 6 tablespoons ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mix until the dough comes together. Separate dough into 2 disks, one using 2/3 dough, the other using the remaining. Wrap disks in plastic and refrigerate until very cold at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before rolling out and baking.

2. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place larger dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 12-inch circle, about 3/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Line dough with foil and weigh it down with pie weights. Bake until crust is light golden brown, about 30 minutes.

For the filling:

For a sweeter filling:

1 to 1 ½ lbs. fresh rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces to make 2 ½ – 3 cups.

1 to 1 ½ lbs. fresh strawberries, hulled to make 2 ½ to 3 cups.

For a tarter filling:

2 lbs. fresh rhubarb, cut into ½ inch pieces to make 4 ½  cups.

1 lb. fresh strawberries, hulled to make 1 ½ cups.

¾ cups packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cardamom

¼ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. kosher salt

3 to 4 tbsp. ground arrowroot

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 large egg

Dash of Angostura bitters

Egg Wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 tsp. water and a pinch of salt)

Demerara sugar, for finishing.

1. Have ready and refrigerated 1 pastry crust (above) and lattice to top.

2. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and granulated sugars, allspice, cardamom, ginger, salt and arrowroot in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Stir in the lemon juice, egg and bitters.

 

3. Drain excess liquid before pouring the filling into the refrigerated pie shell, arrange the lattice pastry on top and crimp as desired.

4. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes to set the pastry. Meanwhile, position the oven racks in the bottom and center positions, place a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack, and pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Brush the pastry with the egg wash to coat; be careful not to drag the filling onto the pastry or it will burn. Sprinkle the pastry generously with Demerara sugar.

 

5. Place the pie on the rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is set and beginning to brown. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees, move the pie to the center oven rack and continue to bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout, 30 to 35 minutes later.

 

6. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, 2 to 3 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The pie will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days or at room temperature for 2.