Jose’s Favorite Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie Recipe

For José nothing says summer like rhubarb. It’s only around for a short time and it pairs perfectly with the tart sweetness of strawberries.

This is not the first rhubarb/strawberry (or strawberry/rhubarb) pie we’ve made this year. Mercifully most of them head to José’s office the next day so our waistlines are spared our rhubarb indulgences.

This recipe is very flexible. Feel free to swap any fresh berry for the strawberries. Or mix up the ratio of rhubarb to berries to suit your taste. But, for heaven’s sake, don’t let rhubarb season pass without having at least one delicious rhubarb-berry pie.

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into ¾ inch pieces
• ½ pound (8 ounces) strawberries chopped
• 300 grams (about 1.5 cups) granulated white sugar
• ¼ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Chop rhubarb and berries and place in large bowl.

3. Zest orange peel and add to bowl with rhubarb and berries.
4. Squeeze orange and measure 1 Tablespoon juice into bowl with rhubarb and berries. There’s no need to strain out the orange pulp.

5. Add sugar, cornstarch and salt to rhubarb berry bowl and mix everything together.
6. Set aside to rest while you prepare your crust (about ½ hour minimum).
7. Roll out first crust about 2” larger than pie pan.
8. Lift and fit into pie pan. Do not stretch (it will just shrink back when cooking).

9. 9. Roll out second pie crust
   10. Trim edges and, using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, cut into ½ wide strips.

I assemble the lattice on the countertop and slide a large cake lifter under it to move it to the pie. I find it’s less messy this way. If you don’t have a cake lifter it is definitely easier to assemble the lattice directly on the pie.

9. Assemble your lattice by laying horizontal strips about ½ inch apart on countertop
10. Fold every other strip back about half way
11. Place one strip vertically near where the horizontal pieces are folded back
12. Unfold the horizontal strips to cover the first vertical strip and fold back the horizontal strips that were previously left flat
13. Place next vertical strip on counter ~½ inch from other vertical strip
14. Continue adding vertical strips until lattice is complete.
15. Using your pie pan as a guide, press the lattice strips together about ½ inch larger than your pie pan
16. Trim excess from lattice top

19. Slip cake lifter under lattice and slide onto top of filled pie crust
20. Fold lattice under edge of bottom crust and crimp between thumb and fingers
21. Brush crust with egg wash
22. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar

23. Slide pie into oven over foil-lined baking sheet and bake about 1 hour.
24. Check pie at ~1 hour point. If crust is getting too brown, loosely tent with foil.
25. Continue cooking another 30 minutes until crust is golden brown in center.
26. Remove from oven, place on wire rack and cool at least 2 hours.