Making Strawberry Rhubarb Pie~A Seasonal Treat

Depending where you live, fresh rhubarb is typically available from early spring (the end of March or early April) to late spring or early summer (around May or June). Strawberries are in season from mid-May to early July. Combining the tartness of the rhubarb with sweet juicy strawberries is a glorious marriage.  Now is the perfect time to make this very simple and easy strawberry rhubarb pie. To me, this pie is a throw-back to simpler days, using fresh ingredients from the garden. Only once, did I grow rhubarb and enough strawberries to make this pie. It is a winner being both tasty and colorful!

A Tried and True Recipe

The recipe is from Allrecipes.com and I’ve made two pies in the last two days.  I start with my tried and true pie crust recipe that I featured in a previous post. It takes just a few minutes to whip it up in the Cuisinart and 30 minutes to chill. Click here for the recipe. For convenience, you can also use a store bought pie crust.

Fresh Ingredients and Preparation

In the meantime, gather these ingredients: strawberries, rhubarb, butter, sugar, flour and an egg. Can’t find fresh rhubarb? Check the freezer section in your grocery store. Look for shiny, red strawberries that do not have mold spots or a white area near the stem. For me, I only purchase strawberries when they are in season. The rest of the time, they look like strawberries but lack any real berry flavor.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Hull and wash strawberries. My son uses the smaller side of a melon baller to remove the stem. If you don’t have a melon baller, just pinch the stem between your fingers and pull.

Gently rinse the strawberries until cool water to rinse away any dust or preservation additives.

Cut the larger strawberries into quarters or smaller pieces if your strawberry is excessively large.

Fresh rhubarb looks like stalks of red celery. Chop the rhubarb into bite-size pieces. Note how tart this is!

Mix the flour and sugar together in a large bowl.

Toss in the chopped rhubarb and strawberries and let stand for 30 minutes to macerate.

Making the Pie Crust

Meanwhile, roll out the pastry dough for a 9 inch double crust pie. See all the chunks of butter and shortening~~those will become the flakey pockets in the crust. You can easily make this with store-bought pie crusts, too. My favorite is from Trader Joe’s, however, it appears they will only sell these in the fall for the holiday season.

I like to roll the bottom dough about an inch or two bigger than the pie plate. This allows me to do a decorative edge with the extra dough.

I love a good, glass pie dish. Mine tend to be 9.5″ vs 9″, but here are some 9″ ones for you. I bake pies all the time and use them frequently.

Adding the Filling

Add the strawberry/rhubarb mixture to the bottom crust. If there is alot of juice in the bowl, scoop out the strawberries and rhubarb with a slotted spoon.

Dot the top of the fruit mixture with 2 Tablespoons of butter.

Roll out the top crust and place it over the top of the pie pan. Crimp both crusts together with a fork to seal. Remove any excess dough with a paring knife around the edge.

Finish and Bake

The pie will need to have steam escape during baking. You can cut vents in the top crust or do a lattice crust on this pie. Brush the crust with the beaten egg yolk and a pastry brush.

Look at the bright yellow hue from our backyard chicken yolks! Sprinkle the top of the crust with white sugar.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown.  You may want to add a cookie sheet under the pie pan since it is possible the pie juices will bubble over. Cool on a wire rack.

With hungry children, we cut into this pie a bit too early.  It was still warm to the touch and the juices from the rhubarb and strawberries are not thickened.  

With the additional pie we made today, we will wait until it completely cools and see if that helps thicken the filling.

Can You Freeze Strawberry Rhubarb Pie?

Yes, you can freeze strawberry-rhubarb pie cooked or uncooked.

• To freeze uncooked strawberry-rhubarb pie: Assemble the strawberry-rhubarb pie in a foil pan and follow the recipe until the last step, but don’t bake it. Wrap the pie tightly in foil and place it in a large zip-top freezer bag (if you don’t have a large enough bag, just wrap it in another layer of foil). Freeze for up to two months and bake according to the recipe, adding a few extra minutes of bake time to account for the frozen temperature.
• To freeze cooked strawberry-rhubarb pie: Bake the pie in a foil pan, then allow it to come to room temperature. Wrap the pie tightly in foil and place it in a large zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to two months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Enjoy! Please let me know about your pie-baking success.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from Allrecipes.com

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