“Our mothers always remain the strangest, craziest people we've ever met.”
- Marguerite Duras
Spring is in full force here in the Mid-Atlantic, and while I sorely miss Edinburgh, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the change of scenery. I barely made it back to the states in time (thanks, Kuwait Air!) to celebrate Mother's Day. Fortunately, I was scary enough to convince the airport gods to grant me a new flight. Normally breakfast in bed is standard protocol, but this year I made a dinner that was slightly ambitious and definitely scrumptious. I did have great help while pulling this together, so you might want to enlist the help of a friend or a critter with thumbs if you want to pull off the same menu.
Smokey Cauliflower, Couscous, Falafel
Beef Kofta, Pickled beets & Tzatziki
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
This pie...is kinda complicated. I suggest reading through the whole description before you start making it. I didn't, in my classic style, and was struggling later on. Spoiler Alert: this crust is baked a total of three times, and needs to cool down in-between the 1st and 2nd baking. Okay, here we go.
All butter crusts scare me a bit, but trust that this will hold up and won't fall apart. Combine the flour with the sugar and salt. I omitted the cinnamon because I don't like the idea of it with most fruit. Next, cut in the cold butter and add the vanilla at this point as well. Now slowly add the water, but only add enough to bring the dough together; too much water will make the crust tough. Bring the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and chill it for at least 30 minutes.
After the dough has chilled, roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper to fit a 9 inch pie dish. Budget for a 1/2 inch of hangover (trim if needed) and allow the crust to chill again for 20 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 350 F. Now, line the crust with parchment and either place dried beans or pie weights down to blind bake the crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Take the pie out, remove the parchment and weights/beans, brush it with an egg wash, and return to the oven for another 20 minutes of baking. Cool completely.
While you're waiting for the crust to cool, you can make the filling and the crumb topping. To make the filling, mix the rhubarb, strawberries, cornstarch, ginger, and orange zest together in a large, heavy saucepan and allow the mixture to macerate for about 30 minutes. Then bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and continuously stir, it will start to get pretty sticky. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for another 3 minutes, or until the juice has thickened.
To make the crumble, pour the flour, oats, and brown sugar into a medium sized bowl. Cut the butter into the mixture until it is incorporated well. Chill this topping until you are ready to use it.
Preheat the oven to 375 F and fill your now-cooled pie crust with the fruit filling and top it with the crumble. Bake for about 35 minutes on the center rack or until golden brown. I like to put a sheet tray under pies to catch the inevitable bubble over of doom. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...Ben knows. The pie can be served warm or at room temperature. My family is rude and hungry, so we ate it warm and it was all you could ask for in a fruit pie.
Recipe
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 c plus 1 tsp all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 11 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3/4 Tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp ice cold water
- 1 egg, beaten to blend
For the crumb topping:
- 2/3 c rolled oats
- 1/2 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
For the filling:
- 3/4 lb rhubarb, sliced 1/2-inch thick on sharp diagonal
- 1 quart strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 c sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
