Fresh Strawberry Pie (from our archives)

 First published July 2, 2009

Thompson-Finch Farm in Ancramdale -- our go-to place for PYO organic strawberries in our area. For hours and picking conditions... click here!  

There are other places, of course, to get your freshly picked strawberries. The main point is to get FRESH strawberries for this recipe!

This has to be one of the best (and easiest) strawberry pie recipes ever and perfect for a Fourth of July picnic dessert.  The pie is filled with uncooked berries bound together with a thickened berry puree.  Only the crust is baked in this recipe so the strawberries taste as fresh as the day you picked (or bought) them.

Ingredients for filling:

• 6 cups fresh strawberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 TBL strained fresh lime juice (reserve at least 1 TBL for crust)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1.  Pick over: 6 cups of strawberries

2.  Rinse, dry, and hull the strawberries; cut any very large ones in half.  Measure 4 cups of berries and set aside.  Puree the remaining 2 cups berries in a blender or food processor.

3.  Whisk together in a medium saucepan: Sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in 1/2 cup water.

4.  Stir in the pureed berries along with: Lime Juice and Butter pieces. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute.

5.  Pour half of the reserved berries into the crust and spoon half of the hot berry mixture over them. Gently shake the pie pan to coat the berries evenly. Cover with the remaining berries, spoon the remaining hot berry mixture over them, and gently shake the pan as before

6. Refrigerate the pie for at least 4 hours to set. This pie is best served the day it is made but does taste great for up to 3 days. Serve with: Whipped cream (optional)

Ingredients for Crust:

Pre-heat oven to 375º

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4  cup sugar
• 1/4  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
• 1 TBL fresh lime juice (or more if necessary)

Directions:

1.  Put all dry ingredients in a food processor and process — add lime juice gradually while processing until it forms a ball.

2.  Wrap ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3.  This makes just enough dough for a 9″ pie shell.   It can be a little sticky so use plenty of flour when rolling out the dough.

4. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork and bake for about 15 minutes (or until lightly brown)

Cool then proceed with the filling recipe above.