Fresh Strawberry Pie

I’ve had this pie recipe drafted to share for a few months, but am just now sharing it. While the peak of strawberry season has passed us, you can still find ripe and delicious strawberries for an affordable price this time of year.

As you should know, I’m quite the pie aficionado. I love it in all forms and in all seasons, but fruit pies are definitely my favorite. When it comes to fruit pies, I like them to taste as fresh as possible. Why use fresh fruit if you’re just going to make it taste canned? This recipe really hits the mark when it comes to tasting fresh, mostly because only half of the berries are cooked.
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Fresh Strawberry Pie
Serves 6-8 (or 1 if you’re me)

2 pounds fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 unbaked pie crust
Optional: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to top

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Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dice 1 pound berries or process in food processor until they reach a similarly chopped texture (my favorite shortcut).
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Scoop berries into a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Add sugar to the pan along with the lemon juice and stir to combine. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Pour into the strawberry mixture and stir vigorously. Cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens, making sure to stir frequently to prevent lumps. Check to make sure your sauce isn’t cloudy before you remove it from the heat, so you know that the cornstarch has fully cooked.
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While the sauce cools, place pie crust into 9″ or 10″ pie plate. Crimp the edges and then lightly prick the bottom and sides with fork about 30 times. Place a piece of foil inside the pie crust, lightly pressing around inside bottom edges of crust. Fill with dried beans (or pie weights if you have them) and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove beans and foil. Return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until edges are golden brown. Note, you can reuse these beans. I store mine with my baking supplies in a little baggie marked pie beans.
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While the crust cooks, cut the remaining strawberries into halves and mix into your cooled sauce.
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Let your crust cool for a few minutes and then pour the strawberry mixture into your baked pie shell. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until the pie is set. Serve topped with whipped cream or with ice cream on the side.
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The final product seconds before I attacked it with a fork. Plating a slice is for suckers.

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What’s your favorite summer time pie? I’m also a big fan of blackberry or boysenberry pies, but these varieties of berries are hard to find in this area. Someone in Seattle send me a care package of berries!
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XOXO,
Jules

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