Grown Up Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

First off, I'm sorry that I have been missing in action for the past few weeks. I have been driving around the midwest like crazy, and that means I've been cooking, but not having too much time for writing.

And now, on with the show!

Confession: I have a lot of love for rhubarb. I love the super tart flavor, the hidden vegetable-ness of it, the whole thing. It makes an awesome sauce for ice cream and a great raw snack (when very fresh). It is most commonly invoked in the form of strawberry rhubarb pie, and that's just fine with me. I'm not a huge fan of pie generally, but the combination of strawberries and rhubarb is heaven, as long as you don't mess with it too much.

This crumble top rhubarb pie has a nice black pepper kick to it which nicely compliments the sweet-tart filling. This particular recipe comes from Heidi Swanson and her wonderful blog, 101 Cookbooks. She made this as a crumble, but I chose to make it as a pie.

Recipe:

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/3 c. pecan pieces

1/3 c. walnut pieces

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/3 c. melted butter

1/2 lb. strawberries, cut into quarters

12 oz. rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 frozen pie crust

Directions:

1) Remove pie crust from freezer and let it thaw out a bit. Also, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Combine flour, nuts, 1/2 c. sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir in melted butter. Once well mixed, put the mixture in the freezer.

3) Whisk together cornstarch and remaining 1/2 c. sugar in a bowl. Add strawberries and rhubarb and mix until all the pieces have been covered by the mixture.

4) Pour strawberry/rhubarb/sugar/cornstarch mixture into the pie shell. Retrieve other mixture from the freezer and crumble it across the top. Try and compact the mixture a bit so that it forms a cohesive pie.

5) Bake for about 40-45 minutes. You will want to put a cookie sheet under the pan as it is baking, unless you love to clean your oven.

5b) If the edges start to brown too quickly, put a halo of tinfoil around the edge of the pan. You will know the pie is done because it will be golden brown across the crumble topping and the filling will be bubbling away like mad.

My whole family really enjoyed this pie, and I have a feeling that you will too.

Until our next dessert,

ceh.