Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

I am always amazed how a taste or a smell can instantly transport you back to a long-forgotten time or place. That food can evoke such strong emotions and memories within us is a testament to just how fundamental a part it is in our history, culture and daily lives. When I think of summer, I think of fresh, ripe, mouthwatering sweet strawberries. We used to grow them in our backyard when I was a child – hearty little plants that would sprout and quickly escape the confines of the flower bed. Those little white flowers were always the harbinger of summer, a prelude to the luscious red fruit to come. We as consumers have become accustomed to enormous, bright red, California strawberries that are available year round. Ironically, the sweetest and most flavorful strawberries are always the smallest. They also make the best pies.

I have always enjoyed baking. Yet somehow, the one dessert that has always eluded me is pie. Specifically, my problem is the crust – finding the right combination of butter, shortening, flour and sugar is surprisingly difficult. While the ingredients are simple enough, making good, flaky pastry is more of an art than a science. Experienced pie bakers know how pastry dough should feel and how to adjust ingredients to achieve the right texture. These are not skills I posses. So I have been looking for the perfect recipe for a novice pie baker.

Note the very unprofessional lattice-job. My friend

Siu-Li has since shared with me the secret of a perfect

lattice,which I will share with you with the next pie!

A good strawberry-rhubarb pie is a thing of beauty: sweet yet tart and tangy, a little slice of summer. More importantly, it always reminds me of Oregon summerswhere I grew up and where rhubarb is plentiful from April to July. This recipe is heavy on the rhubarb (4 cups), which makes it perfectly tangy. Don't worry, the two cups of strawberries and cup of sugar balance out the rhubarb nicely for a sweet yet punchy pie. When I first looked at the recipe for the crust, I was surprised to see cream cheese in place of shortening. Without the shortening, the crust looses the flaky quality that many pie bakers prefer. What the crust lacks in the flake department, it makes up in taste. This crust has oodles of flavor and you would never suspect cream cheese as a major ingredient. It is also really easy to make - perfect for a novice pie baker like myself.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Adapted from: Art Smith's Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family.  Hyperion. (October 2001).

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Divide the dough into 2 thick disks, one slightly larger than the other.

For the filling:

4 cups chopped rhubarb (about 1 1/2 lbs)

1 pint strawberries, quartered (about 2 cups)

1 cup plus 1 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup all-pupose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grate zest of one lemon

1 large egg, lightly beated with 1 teaspoon of water

Make the Dough.  In the bowl of a stand-mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until well blended.  Add the flour, sugar, and salt and mix just until the dough just starts to come together. It should be crumbly, but when pressed it will hold together.  Shape into two disks, one slightly larger than the other.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Make the filling.  Preheat to 400 degrees.  Roll out the larger of the two disks to roughly 1/8-inch thickness.  Gently transfer to a pie-pan and refrigerate while making the filling. 

In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, 1 cup of the sugar, flour, vanilla, and lemon zest. Let stand until the fruit begins to release its juices - about 15 minutes. Pour into the pie shell.

Roll the second disk of the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle, and cut into strips with a pizza cutter, pastry wheel or sharp knife.  Carefully arrange the strips across the top of the pie in a lattice pattern.  Fold the edges of the botton crust over the ends of the strips and, using a fork, seal the dough together. Brush the lattice strips with some of the egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Place the pie on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, Reduce the oven temperature to 350 derees and bake until the juices int he center of the pie are bubbing, about 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.