♥️Find Your Little Friday♥️
My heritage comes out in so many areas of my life but it is the most pronounced with food. I will discover a recipe, technique or cuisine and follow the trace back to my family history of where that love, curiosity and awareness came from. If my love of desserts/pastries is from my family, then pie is the midwestern homage to that love and also the place I grew up. This pie flavor combination is my most beloved and was also my maternal grandfather’s favorite. Let the traditions keep flowing.
In honor of the first few days of spring I offer up my favorite pie recipe for strawberry rhubarb. This has been a favorite pie of mine since I was a little girl and I was over the moon to see the first bits of rhubarb appear in the market this past week. Depending on where you live delicious and sweet strawberries may be already available. If not, wait a couple more weeks and your combination will be perfect. This is a perfect flavor combination for me, sweet & tart and of course a lovely buttery crust to compliment the flavors. This variatiion is known as a crostata in Italy, a galette in France and hand pie Stateside
Pie crust:
Yields six 3" crostatas
•2 1/2 cups a.p. flour
•2 sticks of chilled unsalted butter cut into cubes
•1/4 cup of brown sugar
•1 tsp of salt
•6-8 tbsp of cold water
Sift together flour, sugars and salt. Add the cubed butter into the mixture either using a pastry cutter to incorporate or your hands. Working quickly, mix all ingredients together until the butter starts to become pearl sized as it gets combined with the dry ingredients. Slowly add a few tbsp of cold water and mix together. Add more water till the mixture begins to be moistened through but not overly wet. Separate the dough into two equal parts, wrap in plastic and refrigerate each disk for at least an hour
While the dough rests make the filling
•1 quart of strawberries cleaned, stemmed and quartered
•3 stalks of rhubarb cleaned and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
•1/4 cup of sugar
•1/4 cup of brown sugar
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge for half an hour to allow the fruit to macerate.
Preheat your oven to 375º. Take one disk of dough out of the fridge and flour a clean surface. Using a long chef knife or pastry cutter, split the dough into thirds, then reform each piece into a ball, giving you three balls. Starting from the center of each, use a floured rolling pin and work out towards the corners. Once you get the dough to a desired thickness, (about a 1/4 inch) move onto the next until you have three. Then move to a parchment lined sheet tray, a half sheet holds three. Then take out the remaining half and follow the same steps as the first piece of dough, finishing by placing the last three pieces onto another half sheet tray.
Divide the filling evenly amongst the six discs, about 1/3 of a cup into each, focusing on placing the filling in the center of each, leaving a little less than an inch border. Begin by folding the edges of the dough over the filling, moving counter clockwise as you overlap the dough onto itself, like you’re tucking the filling in. Pinch the dough at the top if any cracks form. Sprinkle with demerara sugar/raw sugar.
Place in the oven and and bake for about 35 minutes, until the fruit juices start bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Cool for about thirty minutes, enjoy!