My 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. 
They 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
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).
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
Press 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.
You can decide how much you’d like to add, but I didn’t use the whole amount. 
- Fill the pie shell until heaping.
- It’s best served with whipped cream, and the tiniest of the strawberries saved for the top.
Notes
And 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.
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!
So glad to hear it. I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
it looks delicious!
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Oh my this looks good! Such a fan of rhubarb, can’t wait to try this!
You won’t be sorry. It’s really good.
Wow, I LOVE the idea of rhubarb curd! My husband absolutely loves rhubarb so I am going to make this for him soon.
Yeah, this was one of those innovations that makes a cook really proud. I love when I solve a problem I’ve had a long time.
Can’t wait to try this rhubarb curd. Such a great idea. 🙂
Thanks! And I know you’re a rhubarb person.
Beautiful pie and curd is a great idea.
Thanks!
This looks amazing… and perfect for “individual desserts” when you’re having people over! Love it!
The individual desserts always look cuter. It’s a fact.
I have never had rhubarb curd but it sounds amazing!!! This pie looks like a keeper for sure! Pinning for later 😉
Thanks for pinning! This is a really great one to know.