Wednesday, July 1, 2009

My, My, It's [Canadian] Pie

Happy Canada Day!
Today is the birthday of two things I hold dear... my country and favourite land of Canada, and my very own blog! To celebrate I've put a few red (and sometimes white) things on the menu, namely a delicious and almost completely local strawberry-rhubarb pie!

To keep with the festive red colour scheme today, I also have to show you my latest fashionista move: a brilliant red dye job courtesy of Valentinos (and a cut from Christina!). Thanks guys!

Now, foodage. I scored BIG at the farmer's market last weekend. Like, total no-holds-barred, wallet-emptying big. Instead of getting a few baskets of assorted fruit and a locally cured salami for a certain challenge, I came home with the salami, local provolone (also for the challenge), and 3 lbs of fresh, bright strawberries. Yes, 3 pounds. And no clue what to do with them all, other than that compote from a couple days ago and a pie or two. Not to mention the fact that we still had half a pound from the week before in our fridge (I disposed of that in a more direct manner... *chomp*).

So, pie it was then! I actually wound up making three in the long run, and each of them were stuffed to the brim not only with those precious jewels of summertime but also with super-local rhubarb (yes, the garden was proliferating yet again!). The crust was partial Red Fife flour (local again!). So what wasn't all-Canadian in this patriotic pastry? Ah, well that would be the secret ingredient... the one that caused my dad to ask just what I did to the crust to make it so amazing.

The answer? A sliced banana lined the bottom of each pastry shell. Oh yes, I did it. The banana forms an ever so slightly creamy and custardy layer between the fresh and slightly tart pink berries and the plain, semi-salty and rich crust. It was definitely a shot-in-the-dark hit, and I knew after the first one I made that it was carving it's way solidly into my pie-making repetoire. My mom's pie gilded the lily a tad on top of the triple-fruit goodness too, since I added chocolate chips to her pie's strawberry-rhubarb filling! Hey, she was pining for chocolate, and who am I to tell my mom no??

So enjoy this pie, and all the other ones at this month's "You Want Pies With That?" event!

Strawberry - Banana Rhubarb Pie
Serves 12
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup cold butter
1/4 cup shortening
4 - 5 tbsp cold water
3 tbsp tapioca flour
1/3 cup super-fine sugar
13 oz strawberries, quartered
15 oz rhubarb, chopped into 3/4"-1" pieces
1 large ripe banana, sliced into rounds
Egg wash (optional)
  1. In a bowl, whisk together flours, salt and sugar.
  2. Cut the butter and shortening in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. 1 tbsp at a time, gradually add water until a dough forms (you may not need it all).
  4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead 1-2 times to bring the mixture together, then wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 425F.
  6. Roll out pastry, fitting half into a 9" pie pan.
  7. Combine the tapioca flour and sugar and sprinkle over strawberries and rhubarb. Let stand 5 minutes.
  8. Layer banana slices evenly on the bottom pastry crust.
  9. Pour the strawberry-rhubarb mixture over the bananas and smooth to an even layer.
  10. Roll out and cut remaining pastry into strips.
  11. Form a lattice-work pattern overtop of the filling and crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
  12. Brush lattice with egg wash if desired.Bake pie on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and cook for another 45 minutes, until browned and bubbling.
  13. Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 189.5
Total Fat: 9.6 g
Cholesterol: 13.6 mg
Sodium: 38.7 mg
Total Carbs: 24.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.6 g
Protein: 2.4 g

6 comments :

  1. Looks delicious! I wonder if my hubby would eat this... he doesn't usually like rhubarb, but I think he might like it with the banana!

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  2. What a great idea! I most certainly wouldn't have thought of putting bananas on the bottom ... but, thinking about it, it makes good sense!

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  3. What an interesting idea with the banana! This looks like a really delicious pie.

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  4. Love the way you used the bananas in this one. So creative! Great job!

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  5. Very pretty!!

    -Amy
    www.singforyoursupperblog.com

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Thanks for the feedback!