MissoulaFoodie

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie: The easy no-roll pie crust is a breeze to make and the crunchy and sweet streusel topping makes a great contrast to the soft, tart filling. Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian

By GREG PATENT for the Missoulian

The long, cool, wet spring we seem to have emerged from has done wonders for certain garden plants, especially rhubarb. Bright red stalks catch the eye in area markets and at farmers markets, and now’s the time to bake a rhubarb pie. I like adding strawberries for their sweetness, and local berries are just beginning to show up at farmers markets, too.

Botanically, rhubarb’s a vegetable related to buckwheat, but we use it as a fruit in all sorts of cooking. Its sharp, acidic flavor evoked these words from former New York Times food writer, Molly O’Neill: “Rhubarb has a mean sharp bite that demands coaxing, seasoning, sweetening and simmering.”

Although we tend to use rhubarb in desserts, today’s adventurous chefs are including it in savory dishes such as Couscous with Rhubarb and Asparagus, Chicken Livers in Red Wine Rhubarb Sauce, Baked Ham with Rhubarb in Balsamic Vinegar Sauce, and Rhubarb-soy Marinated Duck.

My own repertoire includes rhubarb pies, cobblers, ice cream, turnovers and sauces. And recently I came across a recipe for a rhubarb pie in Relish magazine that’s so easy I felt I had to share with you. It’s made with a no-roll pastry you press into the pie plate, a flour-thickened filling, and a crunchy streusel topping. I substituted strawberries for some of the rhubarb and modified the original baking instructions.

If you’re gun-shy about making pastry, have no fear. This crust is foolproof.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

This pie must be baked in a deep-dish 9-inch pie pan because the juices will bubble over during baking. I use one made by Pyrex. The pie is delicious as is, but it also pairs well with vanilla ice cream.

No-Roll Pastry

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level off)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons milk

Filling

1 2/3 cups sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

4 cups diced, red rhubarb stalks (1 pound)

2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced

Streusel Topping

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a heavy baking sheet on an oven rack adjusted to the lowest position.

To prepare the pastry, mix the flour with the salt and sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the vegetable oil and milk and mix well with a fork until the dough gathers into large clumps. Transfer the dough to a deep-dish pie plate and press with fingertips to spread evenly over the bottom and up the sides right to the rim. Make sure the crust is not too thick where the bottom meets the side of the pie plate. The crust will be thin, about one-eighth-inch thick.

To prepare the filling, combine the sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, gently combine the rhubarb and strawberries. Sprinkle one-third of the sugar mixture (2/3 cup) evenly onto the bottom of the pie crust. Scatter 2 cups of the rhubarb and strawberries over the sugar mixture. Repeat twice more, ending with the fruit.

To prepare the streusel topping, mix the butter, sugar and flour with a pastry blender or your hands or a food processor until crumbly. Sprinkle over the rhubarb and strawberries, leaving the streusel loose. Don’t pack it down. Pieces of fruit will poke through the topping, and the pan will be very full. Set the pie plate on the baking sheet in the oven.

Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake about 40 minutes more, or until the filling is very bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Pie juices will bubble over onto the baking sheet. Cool completely, 4 to 6 hours, before serving.

• Makes 8 servings.

Greg Patent is a food writer and columnist for the Missoulian and missoula.com magazine. Visit Greg’s website at www.gregpatent.com. You can write him at chefguymt@gregpatent.com.