House Spouse

Ah, the Deep South. I love to visit it. But I also love returning home from it, especially with a trunk full of ripe strawberries, fresh peaches, and sweet Vidalia onions. I’ll get to the peaches and onions later, but for now, let’s talk about strawberries. Oddly enough, I am not a big fan of most berries, but I do love fresh, ripe strawberries. The small ones are best, eaten plain without all the whipped cream, sugar, lemon juice, or whatever else gets added to what are just perfect on their own. Why then do I mention “pie” in the title of this post, when pie includes all of these inhibitors of perfection, and thens some? Well, not all people share in my strawberry appreciation philosophy, namely my step-mother who upon seeing the large bag of berries on her counter top when she arrived home from work the day we picked them, immediately set about cramming them all in a single Ziplock bag and refrigerating them. Oy.

In all due respect to the magnificent woman who is more like my friend than my parent, she thought she was doing me a favor. “The berries were hot,” she informed me in her thick Greek accent, which she proudly possesses twenty some odd years after emigrating to the U.S. “You don’t want them to be hot.”

I pulled the berries out of the fridge and found most of them bruised or crushed. As I began separating them into three bags hoping the salvage them from all becoming mush, I tried so hard not to “scold” her. To not be the uppity daughter from the city who comes into her house wagging her foodie finger telling everyone what’s best, what’s appropriate, how to make that better. I told her I was annoyed and left it at that. (If you know me, you appreciate my self control in this situation.) Later on, when she apologized for the fifth time, I consoled her (and myself) by letting her know that when I got back to Chicago, strawberry season would be just starting and I could buy them to my heart’s content.

And so, I made a pie my first day back in the Midwest. The kitchen isn’t too hot yet, so turning on the oven doesn’t make us feel as if we’re in hell (oh, and it will. Too soon!). I modified a recipe for fresh strawberry pie from this month’s Gourmet, using graham crackers instead of the shortbreads for the crust.

(Recipe after the jump)

Fresh Strawberry Pie

Ingredients
For crust:
6 large graham crackers
2 Tbsp sugar
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For filling:
2 lb (1 1/2-inch) strawberries, hulled
2/3 - 3/4 cup sugar (depending on your taste and the ripeness of the berries)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (2 1/4 tsp)

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Pulse cookies in a food processor to fine crumbs. Pour into a bowl and stir in sugar and then butter until well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and up side of a 9-inch pie plate. I used a spring form pan. It was too big and hence my pie looked more like a tart. Make sure you have enough crackers for your crust! Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Prepare filling and assemble pie:
Select 20 large strawberries as close to same size as possible and set aside. Cut remaining berries into 1/4-inch dice and toss with sugar and lemon juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Drain berries in a sieve set into a large glass measuring cup. Add enough water to measure 2 cups. Transfer liquid to a medium saucepan and reserve berries.

Sprinkle gelatin over strawberry liquid and let soften 1 minute. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring until gelatin has dissolved. Add diced berries, then transfer to a metal bowl set into an ice bath and stir frequently until mixture begins to mound, 30 to 45 minutes.

Spoon 1/2 cup filling into piecrust and arrange reserved whole berries, stem ends down, on filling. Spoon remaining filling over and between berries. Chill pie until filling is set, at least 4 hours. If your berries are really ripe and small, it will take longer. Be patient, because it’s worth it. Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened, freshly whipped cream.

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