I have a hard time passing up the vibrant red rhubarb stalks in the market this time of year. Rhubarb is naturally flavorful, yet extremely tart. Pairing fresh rhubarb with strawberries makes an amazing old-fashioned pie.
I used my own Pastry Pie Crust recipe for this pie. You can find that recipe here: https://theflyingkitchen.com/the-best-pie-crust-master-class-and-recipe/
Tart and flavorful; strawberry rhubarb pie is one of my family’s absolute favorites. A cold slice of strawberry rhubarb pie topped with ice cream is just about the best dessert you can have on a hot day.
Strawberries have an extremely high water content and can make a pie very soggy. Watch my video and try my method for gently draining as much water out of the strawberries as you can before baking. This ensures that you pie will slice nicely and have just the right amount of syrup glistening on the jewel-like red fruits without being a soggy, soupy mess.
I recommend baking this pie the day before you plan on serving it and chilling it overnight.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Equipment
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- deep dish pie pan
- strainer
- 2 arge mixing bowls
- Rolling Pin
- pastry scraper
- utility spoon
- wooden spoon
- fine mesh grater
- aluminum foil
- pastry brush for egg wash
- small bowl for egg wash
- a fork or a small whisk for beating egg for egg wash
Ingredients
- 4 cups rhubarb cubed, about 6 stalks
- 5 cups strawberries cubed
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 – 2 tbsp lime zest zest of one – two limes
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt one pinch salt
- 2 tbsp sugar for topping
- 1 unit egg, beaten egg wash for top of pie
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, F. Slice each rhubarb stalk lengthwise at least once – more for very wide stalks.
- Chop each slice so you have a nice bunch of uniformly cubed rhubarb pieces.
- Slice each strawberry into fourths, lengthwise, then dice those pieces. See video.
- Mix the five cups of strawberries and four cups of rhubarb in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and stir.
- Zest one lime taking care to zest just the green part of the peel and not the white pith. Mix the lime zest gently into the fruit and sugar mixture. Set aside for about 20 minutes so the fruit will rest and release liquid and your pie won't end up soggy. See video.
- While your fruit is resting, roll out your pastry. I recommend my recipe, "Shannon's Pastry Pie Crust" found on this site and on my youtube channel.
- Form the pastry into deep dish pie pan.
- By now your fruit should be ready to separate from the liquid. Using a sieve or a spider/skimming spoon, move the fruit into a second large mixing bowl. Leave the liquid behind.
- After the first draining, add the 1/4 cup corn starch, 1 pinch of salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix and set aside to release more liquid.
- This is the last time you will need to separate the fruit from the liquid before you bake your pie. Again, use a fine sieve or a spider/skimmer spoon and lift the fruit out of the liquid. See video.
- Gently spoon your pie filling into the pie.
- Top with pie crust. For lattice instruction, see video.
- For the first part of baking, gently cover the pie with a sheet of aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until you can see that the rhubarb is cooked through. See below.
- Try and see if you can poke a piece of rhubarb through the lattice. If you can easily pierce it with the tine of a fork, you know it's done.
- Now is when you use a pastry brush to brush on the egg wash, and dust the top of the pie with granulated sugar. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- If you find that the outer rim of your pie is browning faster than the inner circle of your pie, make a "pie collar" out of a long piece of aluminum foil, cut lenghwise, then folded over on itself, and connected by folding the ends so it's one very long piece that can wrap around the pie. See video.
- Keep an eye on it and bake it until it's evenly done and beautiful. Let it cool to room temperature and put in the fridge overnight. Of course, you can serve right away if you want (who can resist?), but the insides may be runny. It will still taste amazing, though. It's really good served with vanilla ice cream.
