Driving through Richland Center this weekend, we passed a small roadside stand in the parking lot of the Napa auto parts store. An Amish girl was selling fresh strawberries. Local strawberries are a perfect metaphor for summer in Wisconsin. They have a short season, they have a short table life, and you have to make the most of them while you can.
There is no shortage of things to do with this sweet crop. I love to make pie, and I have a strawberry pie recipe that is awesome. Like a lot of pies, this one can be a bit putzy to make and I usually only make it once a season, but it is worth it - it is summer on a plate.
Ingredients, for the Crust:
9 ounces shortbread cookies
3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
pinch salt
Ingredients, for the Filling:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled (about 2 well-filled quart containers from the Amish girl)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 packet (2-1/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
Ingredients for Eating (Optional):
Whipped Cream
Make the Crust:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
Put cookies in food processor and pulse to make crumbs
Add sugar, butter, and salt. Pulse to mix
Pour mixture into the center of a 9-1/2, deep-dish glass pie pan. This pie has a lot of filling, so a deep-dish pan is the way to go. If you only have a standard 9-inch pie pan, no worries - you can put the extra strawberry mix on vanilla ice cream while you wait for your pie to set. But be warned, this recipe fills a 9-1/2 deep-dish pie tin to the top.
Press crumb mixture into pie pan to create a crust, working from the center to the rim. You can use a large spoon or measuring cup to press, but I usually just use my fingers.
Put pie pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely. There will be plenty of time for the crust to cool, as you will soon see.
Make the Filling:
Set aside about 20 whole, hulled strawberries in a bowl in the refrigerator. If your family is home, tell them these are not 'extra' berries and not to eat these.
Cut the remaining hulled strawberries into quarters and place in a glass bowl. Add the sugar and lemon juice. and set aside for 30 minutes to allow juice to be drawn from the berries, mixing occasionally.
Place a colander or strainer over a large measuring cup, pour the berry mixture into the colander to drain the juice. Let set for a few minutes. Transfer the drained berries to a metal bowl.
Add water to the juice if needed to bring the volume to 2 cups. Pour into a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin onto the juice.
Bring the juice to a bare simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the gelatin.
Pour the juice over the berries and mix. The original recipe, which I think I got from a strawberry council promotional pamphlet, called for placing the metal bowl into an ice bath and stirring until thickened. This is a lot of work and requires a lot of ice. I now fill a large bowl with cold tap water, place my metal bowl of filling in the water bath, and stir for about 5 minutes to take most of the heat out of the mixture. I then place the metal bowl of filling in the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally to thicken. The mixture will become noticeably thicker, but still pourable.
Assemble:
You are almost done! Take the cooled crust, reserved strawberries, and filling out of the refrigerator. Place the whole strawberries inside the crust around the perimeter.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the strawberries from the filling bowl into the crust. You can use a ladle or pour from the bowl, but I find it is less messy to put most of the berries in first with a slotted spoon to get an even distribution.
Use a spoon, measuring cup, or ladle and transfer the remaining mixture into the crust.
Put the pie in the refrigerator and let set for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
This is the hardest part - if you try and cut the pie too soon you will get a soupy mess. Let the pie set. If you have extra strawberries, now is the time to bring them out to distract everyone from the pie. Although there is gelatin, the pie has a soft set and the mixture melts in your mouth. Serve with a little whipped cream.
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