Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

By Hklbrries

As a kid, Melanie had two choices of weekend activities. She could stay outside with her father and help him tend the fruit and vegetable garden that surrounded their suburban Toronto home. Or she could head to the kitchen, where her mother, Beverley, turned the harvest into sumptuous fruit pies that earned her ribbons in baking contests.

Melanie usually chose the kitchen. "Cooking was a creative outlet for my mom," she says of Beverley, who lost a battle with colon cancer 4 1/2 years ago. "Even though my role was limited to sous-chef, I never felt as close to her as when I was standing next to her at the stove."

When Beverley made rhubarb-strawberry pie (Melanie's favorite), she let her daughter cut the rhubarb and help roll out the crust. "She knew instinctively how much sugar to add if the stalks were bitter. And if we were short on flour, she would make the pie into a crisp with an oatmeal and brown-sugar topping," says Melanie, now a communications executive who lives in Brooklyn. "The results were always wonderful." And those occasions when her mother used a store-bought crust? It was their secret. If someone complemented Beverley, says Melanie, "she would look across the room and give me a small, sly smile."

Baking grew into a passion for Melanie, too. "No dinner party is complete unless I've made a perfect dessert," she says. And as she cooks, she entertains her daughter, Sydney, four, with tales of the grandmother she never met. Little can budge Sydney from the tiny stool she parks at the counter - and not just because she loves listening to stories, says Melanie: "She also wants to be the first person in line to eat what comes out of the oven."

Ingredients

• 2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
• 1/2 pounds strawberries, sliced (about 1 1⁄2 cups)
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 store-bought refrigerated rolled piecrusts

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, flour, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt. Lightly beat one of the eggs, add to the fruit, and toss to combine.

Fit one of the piecrusts into a 9-inch pie plate. Fill with the fruit mixture, pressing it in firmly. Lay the second crust on top and press the edges of the crusts together to seal.

Trim the crust to a 1-inch overhang, fold the overhang underneath itself, and crimp. In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water and brush over the crust. Sprinkle with sugar and cut vents in the top.

Place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fruit mixture is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, 1¼ to 1½ hours. Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Nutrition Information:
Per serving
392 calories
16 g fat (6 g saturated fat)
63 mg cholesterol
251 mg sodium
5 g protein
60 g carbohydrates
29 g sugar
2 g fiber
1 mg iron
86 mg calcium