Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie - revisited

One of our favourite fruits, is rhubarb.  I don't think it would take Einstein to work that out - especially if you could see our garden right now.

Ruby (the rhubarb plant) has been divided and so we now have Ruby 2 in an adjacent planter - and Ruby 3 (who fell off when the division was happening) is in a pot, close by to her Mum so that she can gain support from the proximity.  Yes, we're daft - you mean you hadn't realised that before now?

Ruby 2 had a bit of a shaky start, but is now looking promising and is gaining in stature daily.  I'm sure it won't be long before she's as full of vim and vigour as her Mum is.  By which time, we'll be incapable of seeing the rest of the garden, past them.

All of which means, of course, that you'll be seeing plenty of rhubarb recipes turning up!

At the end of last rhubarb season, I was convinced to make a Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie by my friends in the USA, who all declared I hadn't tasted pie until I'd tasted one of those.  Of course, they were right - and the Rhubarb & Strawberry Pie has been on the list to make just as soon as Ruby was back in full production.

In the interests of being able to find a Jack Russell whenever one ventures out of bed and into the garden, we took our first crop from Ruby and - of course - made the pie.

Well, let's just say it has not lost any of its allure in the meantime.

Simply crammed with fruit

The smell of the raw rhubarb - just minutes after being cropped - and the cut strawberries was enough to get the saliva glands jumping.  However, once the pie saw some heat in the oven, the aromas were just out of this world.

Taking my own advice, I piled the pie dish as high as I could get it with fruit.  This made for a gloriously craggy and eccentric looking pie - but one which spoke of sheer indulgence where the degree of fruit inside was concerned.  This was no ordinary pie (lowercase).  This was a PIE! 

Eating this pie is just sheer pleasure.  All else is forgotten - including the power of speech - whilst the flavours dance across your tongue and the sweet/tart thing goes on all over your taste buds.  You can't eat a piece of this pie quickly - it demands cogitative consumption in order to fully appreciate the intensity of flavour, the deliciousness of the juice and the juxtaposition of the soft fruit -v- the crumbly pastry.

Oh, my goodness.  Come on people, put a rhubarb & strawberry pie on your "to do" list for dessert, now!

Link to original recipe is here.
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