Strawberries and rhubarb arrive together for a reason.
One is sweet, the other sharply tart, and together they make one of summer’s most irresistible combinations. Andrew put them to excellent use in this beautiful Strawberry-Rhubarb Slab Pie from The Floured Table.
A Marriage Made in the Garden
Rhubarb began its career not in a pie, but in the medicine chest. Its roots were used in China for centuries before the plant reached Europe, where cooks eventually discovered that the tart stalks became something wonderful when paired with sugar. By the 18th and 19th centuries, rhubarb was such a familiar baking ingredient that it acquired the wonderfully practical nickname “pie plant.”
Wild strawberries have been eaten since ancient times, but the large
strawberry we know today is comparatively modern. It emerged in 18th-century France when a strawberry from Chile was crossed with one from Virginia, creating the ancestor of nearly every cultivated strawberry we eat today.
A Pie Made for Sharing
A slab pie is ideal for a summer lunch, picnic or gathering. It has plenty of golden pastry, a generous fruit filling and enough slices to go around. This version adds lime zest and juice, which brighten the strawberries and rhubarb without overwhelming them. The all-butter pastry is made from scratch, and the lattice top requires a little time and patience. The result is magnificent: crisp, flaky pastry surrounding a bubbling filling that is sweet, tart and unmistakably seasonal. Andrew’s pie looked every bit as good as it tasted. And since strawberry and rhubarb season never lasts quite long enough, this is the moment to make it.
Get the Recipe
Get the complete Strawberry Rhubarb Slab Pie recipe from The Floured Table.
