Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Sunshineville is great for the supply of many a fruit and vegetable, but there are some limitations. One glaring one in my opinion is rhubarb! We just do not have the right climate to cultivate this odd little weed which requires a cold snap to break its winter dormancy. While Sunshineville can occasionally get down to the low 40s at night that really isn't enough. Come the spring some of the grocery stores will have some rhubarb, usually at prices that make a friend of mine who grew up in Minnesota scoff! But, I buy some anyways because I love all things rhubarb!

A couple years ago when hiking in the San Raphael Wilderness area north of Santa Barbara I happened upon a small plant that looked like it could be wild rhubarb. No idea if it was or not, but it was cool to see!

Wild Rhubarb?

What do you think?

With  rhubarb in hand I decided to make a pie!

Here is what I did:

Rinse the rhubarb stocks well, trim the tops and bottoms off

Cut up 2 lbs of rhubarb cut into 1/2" pieces

In a medium size pot, put the cut up rhubarb (reserve a 1/2 cup) with a 1 cup of water and 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar. Put over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the rhubarb has cooked down to a compote consistency (about 30 minutes). After the 30 minutes add the remaining rhubarb and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

Make a pastry crust for a double crust pie. Take half of the pastry dough and roll it to make the bottom crust. Place crust in a 9" pie plate. Cover the crust with the rhubarb mixture. 

Now line the top of the rhubarb with sliced strawberries.

Roll out the reminder of the pastry crust. Cut it into strips and arrange in a lattice pattern. After the lattice was arranged I finished the edge.

Place the pie in a pre-heated oven at 375 F. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until the crust has browned and the filling is bubbling. Let the pie cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

All done!

Excellent eaten on its own or with vanilla ice cream!

Happy Baking!

~ Recipe ~ 

Pastry Crust for double crusted pie: You can double the recipe used here
Rhubarb compote
1 lb strawberries - sliced

~Rhubarb Compote~


2 to 3 lbs of Rhubarb (chopped)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Put the rhubarb (minus 1/2 cup), the water and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add the reserved rhubarb and simmer for 15 more minutes. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to a month.

~Assembly~

Roll out 1/2 the pastry crust and line the bottom of a 9" pie plate. Add rhubarb compote and then arrange sliced strawberries on top. Make a lattice top by weaving stripes of dough across the top of the pie.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes at 375 F. Until crust is golden and filling is bubbling.

Balsamic Strawberry Galette

Strawberry season in Sunshine-ville is in mid swing as evidenced by $0.97/lb strawberries at the local grocery store. I grew up eating strawberries bought from little farm stands that use to dot the landscape in Happy-ville, so I tend to loath grocery store strawberries. They rarely have much flavor, however at such a good price I figure it would be a good time to try out the recipe for a Balsamic and Honey Strawberry Galette I saw on Pintrest, which hailed from the food blog Honey and Jam. The Honey and Jam blog described this galette in wonderful detail, but I made a few changes. I am a chronic recipe tweaker to the point I don't know if I can follow a recipe word for word!

What you need:
~ Filling ~
1- 1.5 lbs fresh strawberries
2 Tbs honey
4 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp black pepper (optional)
1-2 tsp cardamom (optional)

~ Crust ~
1/4 lb salted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
~ 2 - 4 Tbs ice water
1-2 tsp black pepper (optional)
1-2 tsp cardamom (optional)

To macerate the strawberries by slicing 1 lb of strawberries and put them in a dish with a lid. Add 4 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsp honey. Place lid on the dish and shake to mix the vinegar and honey. Let sit for 1 hour to up to 24 hours (if it is going to be more than an hour then refrigerate the strawberries).

Strawberries macerating in balsamic vinegar and honey

While the strawberries are macerating prep the crust. Sift 1 1/4 cup of flour with the pepper and cardamom. Add the soften butter. With a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands to combine the butter and flour. Once the mixture resembles wet sand start by adding 1 Tbs of water at a time to fully combine.

Flour and butter

The mixture should only just be holding together when you add the water, but most of the butter should be in small pieces.

Butter in flour resembles sand

Add the water and continue to mix. Don't over combine this will result in a tough crust instead of a delicate and flaky crust. Also don't add too much water this will make the crust soggy. The crust should just be holding together but still a little crumbly.

Cold water added to bring it together

Shape into a ball, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Once cold again place the ball of pastry between two sheets of wax paper and roll flat to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness. Dust the top with flour.

Once rolled out dust the top with flour

To the strawberry mixture add 1 Tbs flour and 1 Tbs corn starch and mix well.

Flour and cornstarch added to the strawberries

They look so good!

Pile the strawberry mixture in the center of the pastry crust with several inches around the edge. Fold the edges of the pastry up and over using a soft spatula. Paint the exposed pastry with egg wash.

Paint the crust with  an egg wash

Place the gallette in a 350 F pre-heated oven for ~ 45 minutes. The liquid should be bubbling.

Right out of the oven!

Let it rest a little before serving so the liquid can cool and thicken up a little.

I had enough control to take one more picture before I devoured this!

Enjoy!

Recipe:

~ Filling ~
1- 1.5 lbs fresh strawberries
2 Tbs honey
4 Tbs Balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp black pepper (optional)
1-2 tsp cardamom (optional)

Slice the strawberries. Mix the balsamic vinegar and honey together and then pour over the strawberries. Let the strawberries sit for at least an hour up to 24 hours. Mix the berries occasionally since liquid pools at the bottom of the bowl.

~ Crust ~
1/4 lb salted butter
1 1/4 cup flour
~ 2 - 4 Tbs ice water
1-2 tsp black pepper (optional)
1-2 tsp cardamom (optional)


Soften butter. Using a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands and cut the butter into the flour (and spices if you are adding them). Once the mixture appears like course wet sand add water 1 Tbs at a time until the mixture is coming together but still a little crumbly. Shape into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the pastry out between two pieces of wax paper using a rolling pin. Carefully remove the top piece of wax paper and transfer crust to a cookie sheet. I use a baking mat as well, parchment paper works or you can just lightly grease the cookie sheet. Dust the surface lightly with flour.

~ Assemble ~

Add 1 Tbs of flour and 1 Tbs of corn starch (or tapioca) to the strawberries and mix. Pile the strawberries on the pastry crust leaving room to fold the edge of the crust over the fruit. Using a soft spatula and fold the edges up and over the fruit. Brush the exposed pastry with an egg wash. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 F pre-heated oven. Remove and let set for 10 minutes. Serve by itself for with ice cream.

Strawberries and Cardamom Whipped Cream

Strawberries and whipped cream is one of the delicious simple pleasures in life. Now add cardamom and it becomes heavenly! It is best to make your own whipped cream which is a lot easier than you would think and yields great results and is all natural.

Here's what I used:

Whipping Cream (1 to 2 cups)

pinch of salt

pinch of cream of tarter

1/4 to 2/3 cup powdered sugar (add based on taste)

1 to 2 tsp cardamom

Whipping Cream and Powered Sugar!

Here is what you do:

Put a metal or glass bowl in the freezer for a couple hours (add the beaters as well if you think of it). Take bowl out of the freezer, add whipping cream, salt and cream of tarter. Using a stand or hand mixer whip cream until it starts to form peaks. Add powered sugar. Continue to whip until the cream forms peaks that stand.

Unwhipped - whipping cream in cold mixing bowl

Cream is thickening add powdered sugar

Dollop generous amounts of whip cream over sliced strawberries!

Doesn't that look delicious!

If you are like me and like cardamom you can sprinkle a little on the strawberries before you top with the whipped cream.

Enjoy!