Strawberry Pie

Strawberry Pie
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic

Strawberries are in season in South Carolina and of course a quart is not nearly enough. The next step up is a gallon, which is too much to buy and just eat. So I made this strawberry pie. I adapted the recipe from "The New Joy of Cooking."

First, the crust. I made a pat-in-the-crust of:

1 1/2 Cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

8 Tbsp butter, softened, cut into chunks.

2 Tbsp buttermilk

In a food processor, mix the flour and salt, add in the butter. Process til crumby. Drizzle the buttermilk over top, process until everything is wet. (the original recipe called for heavy cream, which I don't have).

Press into a 9-inch pie plate, prick with a fork, and bake for 15 minutes or so in a 400 degree oven.

Filling:

6 Cups cleaned and stemmed strawberries. Puree 2 cups in food processor.

In a saucepan combine:

3/4 Cup Agave Nectar (or 1 Cup sugar)

1/4 C cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

Whisk in

1/4 Cup water (or 1/2 cup water if using sugar)

Stir in:

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tblsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Bring to a simmer over low heat, whisking constantly. Allow to simmer another minute.

In the baked pie shell, arrange 2 cups of the strawberries (cut them into uniform-sized pieces), pour over half the cooked glaze, then the remaining 2 cups of strawberries, and the remaining glaze. Refrigerate until thoroughly cold.

I suspect the original pie, with the refined sugar, has a clearer glaze. I just suspect that.