Bluegrass Baking Company’s Jim Betts shares his recipe
Rhubarb 2014_SMILEY PETE_PIE-4 copy
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
I don’t recall having a rhubarb pie — let alone a strawberry rhubarb pie — when I was growing up in Iowa. But I vividly remember growing rhubarb behind our cardinal-red shed that masqueraded as a garage. Each spring, I would saunter to our back yard, armed with a bowl of sugar, crack off the shiniest, most crimson stalk of broad-leafed rhubarb I could find, plunge it into the sugar and crunch my way through that tart sweet interplay exploding in my mouth.
This recipe is a bit more sophisticated, but I hope it awakens in you that same pleasure of springtime.
SARAH JANE SANDERS 2014_SMILEY PETE_PIE-1
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Yield: Two 8-inch pies
• 1 pound strawberries, quartered
• 4 cups fresh rhubarb (5-6 stalks), chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, juiced or ½ teaspoon lemon extract
• Combine chopped rhubarb, strawberries, vanilla and lemon in saucepan.
• Mix all dry ingredients together; add to saucepan.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring just enough, until liquid begins to thicken. Do not allow to scorch or stick to bottom of pan.
• Cool. Can be made in advance and stored for up to one week.