Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd whip cream garnishMy Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd all started with two quarts of gorgeous little local fresh strawberries. You know the ones. They’re really small. And sometimes oddly shaped. And deep dark red. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd strawberriesThey were at the market, and it was time for a fresh strawberry pie. But I didn’t have the heart to make a Jello-ed, jellied pie with those perfect berries. Even the homemade strawberry puree plus cornstarch versions you see this time of year didn’t seem worthy of those berries. So I started thinking about what else has a consistency that would help fresh strawberries bind together in a pie-like way. Which got me on to lemon curd. Which made me think of the tart neighbor, passion fruit curd, which we had all over our breakfast, all over Australia. Which got me thinking about other fruits that would be a welcome addition to curd. I could reinforce the strawberry, kind of like the original complete with strawberry Jell-o, but after thinking of lemon, tart sounded right to me. And of course, rhubarb and strawberry are such friendly ingredients, and I still had a bag frozen that was calling to me like a siren. So next thing you knew, lickety split, there was fresh rhubarb curd cooling in the fridge and pate sable dough chilling, and I was slicing up two quarts of the strawberry jewels for my updated Southern Supper.

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd features Summer strawberries at their peak and served fresh in rhubarb curd and a light, buttery crust.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Barrett Bridenhagen

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts of the best strawberries you can find small, deep red berries are my faves
  • 1 Pâte Sablée Sweet Tart Dough, or 4-6 small, 4 ½ inch tart shells, blind baked
  • whipped cream for garnish and maybe some little tiny strawberries

rhubarb curd

  • 12 ounces rhubarb; rinsed ends removed and chopped (I used frozen)
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar; divided
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 4 tablespoons butter diced

Instructions

  • Start with preparing the Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough). Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd prepped pie shell
  • In between steps, make the rhubarb curd as follows. In a small pot, heat rhubarb, ¼ cup sugar, and a little water (to cover the bottom of the pan) on medium. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd rhubard sauteeing
  • Cook until rhubarb falls apart and there are no whole pieces left, (keep adding water in small amounts if rhubarb sticks to the bottom of the pot). Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd rhubarb puree
  • Dump into a blender or food processor and purée. Leave in the blender for now.
  • Using the same pot (I didn’t even rinse it, just scraped it out well with a spatula) add egg yolks, butter, ½ cup sugar, lemon juice and whisk. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd yolks and sugar
  • Add the rhubarb puree by the spoonful (the rhubarb should still be hot, so gradual and lots of whisking is important. We’re tempering the eggs here, to much to fast will cook them). When all rhubarb has been added, set the pot over low heat. Continue stirring the rhubarb mixture. Cook while whisking for about 5 minutes, until the curd is warm and thick. At this point, remove from heat.
  • Place in a heatproof bowl to cool. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd prepped curdPress a layer of plastic wrap directly on the curd to prevent a film from forming on the surface.
  • When both the shell and the curd are cool, slice the strawberries into a large bowl.
  • Mix in the curd, starting with about a cup of it. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd add curd to sliced berriesYou can decide how much you’d like to add, but I didn’t use the whole amount. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd filling crust
  • Fill the pie shell until heaping. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd
  • It’s best served with whipped cream, and the tiniest of the strawberries saved for the top.Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd with cream

Notes

The curd and strawberries will not form a solid mass that slices evenly, like Jell-o does, but it will bind them together nicely. Fresh Strawberry Pie with Rhubarb Curd big biteAnd the crust will get soggy quickly, so it’s best to serve the pie when you have enough guests to eat it in one sitting, or make the mini tart shells. Then just fill them as you’re ready to eat them.
Posted in Desserts, Fruits: Preparing and Preserving, Menus, Pies and Tarts, Seasonal Ingredients and Flavors, Summer, Valentine's Day.

16 Comments

  1. Barrett, this is a brilliant idea! I just made a few strawberry rhubarb pies the traditional way and although I love them, with really good strawberries it felt like a crime to cook them. I can’t wait to try this!

  2. Pingback: Rhubarb Mint Juleps

  3. I have never had rhubarb curd but it sounds amazing!!! This pie looks like a keeper for sure! Pinning for later 😉

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