Ed's Favorite Pie (Shh!)

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie made with love by Lilah

Mar 30, 2017

Our buddy Ed Epstein confessed on Saturday when we were in Jamestown for a hike and dinner at The Merc that Strawberry Rhubarb was his favorite pie. He and his wife Janet were coming over for one last dinner together and he was making his masterpiece--Caesar Salad, just like when he made it at the Victorian Manor in Lemont in the old days. His version is sharp with garlic, Dijon and anchovies--delicious. So Lilah and I decided to surprise him with a pie, using some of the rhubarb that was coming up in the yard. We were careful not to pick too much--and also to leave some pie for Sonnet and Margot who are on their way home.

(Welcome home, world travelers!)

Lilah had fun making the pie filling, rolling the dough and weaving the lattice top. And she sure enjoyed making "snails" with the leftover pie crust!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

(based on the recipe by Florence Fabricant of the NYT)

FILLING

3 cups rhubarb in one-inch pieces, about one pound
3 cups strawberry halves
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch (for lack of having Minute Tapioca on hand)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

CRUST

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
15 tablespoons unsalted butter (almost 2 sticks), very cold and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
½ cup ice-cold water
1 tablespoon milk

Prepare the pastry: combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a Cuisinart bowl and cut in the butter. Drizzle in the water, using as little as possible and pulsing the knife blade quickly. Gather two-thirds of the dough and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Do the same with the remaining third. Flatten into disks. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When the dough is chilled, roll out the larger piece and line a nine-inch pie pan.
If rhubarb is thick, peel it. Combine rhubarb and strawberries in a bowl. Mix sugar and cornstarch together and fold gently into the strawberries and rhubarb. Allow to macerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Spoon fruit into pastry shell and dot with butter. Roll out the remaining pastry, cut it into strips three-quarters of an inch wide, and weave a lattice to cover the pie. Seal, trim and crimp the edges. Brush the lattice with milk and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes longer, until the pastry has browned and the filling begins to bubble. (It took a lot longer to bake in Niwot, due to high elevation. Just bake until done; be sure to let the crust get golden brown and the filling all bubbling up through the open parts of the lattice top,) Let the pie cool completely before serving, at least 3 hours, and up to overnight to set the filling--though we enjoyed ours warm that night.