Strawberry-rhubarb pie, where have you been all my life?

I first tried a rhubarb dessert (rhubarb crisp) when I was 10, I remember being surprised at how much I liked it.  I don’t think I’ve had it again since, and, despite loving strawberries, I’ve never gotten around to trying a strawberry-rhubarb combo.  My, but this pie was good, good, good!  It’s made just the way I like- each component is prepared or baked separately, then they are all assembled, which keeps the crust very crisp and the strawberries fresh.

Full disclosure- I didn’t weigh my strawberries, but used (larger) halves instead of slices because I like them so much.  And I didn’t mean to, but I only used 75% of the rhubarb filling, because I didn’t know how much to buy when I saw them in the store (hadn’t yet looked at the recipe).  It turned out I didn’t buy quite enough.  Next time, I’ll keep the strawberry halves (because there can never be too many strawberries) but use the full amount of rhubarb.

Highly recommended!

Wow, those strawberries are gorgeous!  The pie is mouthwatering. It’s beautiful Julie. I have got to start practicing that updated pie crust recipe. I’m missing out.

That is one beautiful looking pie Julie.  Strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven.  I was around the same age as you were when I first tasted a strawberry rhubarb crisp.  My grandmother used to grow rhubarb in her garden and this was such a treat to eat.

Is this a recipe from the Pie and Pastry bible?  Sorry,  I am too tired to get my book out.  Is there a custard filling in there or is it just strawberries and rhubarb.  Not that it really matters though,  I’d eat a slice of it right now if I could reach through my laptop screen

Which crust recipe did you use?

I agree!  That is one beautiful pie!!!!  Never had strawberry rhubarb, but I used to dice raw rhubarb and put it in salads—so tart and lemony!!!  I love the fresh berries on top of the filling—so wonderful!

Flour Girl, thanks for the kind words!

Liza, how nice to “see” you!  This is PPB, but in the tart section, p. 256, it doesn’t have cream, just the rhubarb topped with the strawberries.  There is a rhubarb pie in the fruit pie section with variations for light custard and cream custard- I’m thinking of trying the cream custard out of curiosity, though it’s hard to imagine I’ll like it better than this one.  I had too many other things going on the day I made this and didn’t get whipped cream made, but that might have been a wonderful addition. 

For the crust, I used the sweet cream variation of the basic flaky pie crust.  I might try the cream cheese crust next time- I love how buttery the sweet cream flaky crust is when paired with pie filling, but if you happen to get a bite with just crust/ no filling, it isn’t as tasty as the cream cheese crust.  Sometimes, I add a couple of tablespoons of extra butter to the butter portion that gets rolled into flakes, just to make it flakier and more buttery.  I did that this time and it worked well.  I learned from looking at Shirley Corriher’s pie crust recipes that a little more butter can be added, but if you add as much as Shirley does they become hard to work with, even for an experienced pie maker.

Anne, thank you very much!

That was the first recipe I made from the PPB and I loved it. Yours looks beautiful!

Oh yum!  I adore rhubarb!  That looks incredible and I bet it was delicious. 

I’ve made thre rhubarb pie as the light custard, but I have found it a bit curdly and I think it may work better mixing the egg with the rhubarb rather than pouring over as directed.  If you are looking for other ways to bake with rhubarb, I can attest that a marscarpone filling with rhubarb compote tart is a nice combo—I made this once and have been planning to do so again now that I have a rhubarb plant that grows (which by the way is super easy unless you have lots of standing water!).  I also recall someone making a sour cherry/rhubarb pie and thought that would be divine, too.  I once made a rhubarb curd, thinking the acidity would work and it was good, but the color wasn’t as purply as I’d have liked, but overall I managed to get it to work…needless to say, I love rhubarb and would also love a slice of that tart!!!

So glad you tried the rhubarb, I think it’s underrated in the baking world!  BTW, your pastry crust looks fantastic!

Thanks, Sophia, glad to hear you liked yours as well as I liked mine!

Sherrie, thanks for all the ideas and info on rhubarb- marscapone sounds delicious.  Hope you’ll get a chance to make something rhubarb-y now that it’s in season! And thank you for the crust kudos, my grandmother would be proud to hear you say so.

Julie:
The pie looks great!  This may finally get me to try Rhubarb (I’ve never tasted it and always have been a bit afraid of it.

I’ve never tasted it

It’s tart and lemony!  Mince a little of it and taste it—it’s very nice on salads.  And, like ginger, it’s nice to just have a bit, make a face and say, “Shocking!”

Bill, thanks for the friendly comments!

Just got back from the grocery with more rhubarb…