Rhubarb Raspberry Pie and Pate Brisee

Saturday's harvest from the backyard gave me the ingredients for my all-time favorite rhubarb treat - Rhubarb Raspberry Pie. I'm still harvesting rhubarb and now the red raspberries we transplanted 5 years ago are starting to ripen, plus we have wild blackberry and black raspberry bushes surrounding our yard at the edge of the woods. The crust (Pate Brisee) recipe comes from The Martha Stewart Cookbook. Martha taught me many things, but I'm most grateful for the food processor method for making pie crust.



I found a large silicone pastry mat in King Arthur Flour catalog that makes rolling out the dough a breeze and has measurements to ensure you're rolling the dough into a circle that's just the right size.





and now I'll tell you my secret to a scrumtious, crunchy crust...brush the top with heavy cream or egg wash (whisked mixture of an egg and one teaspoon of water) and sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar.  Add a picnic with fabulous friends and you've got perfection!



Pate Brisee
Adapted from the Martha Stewart Cookbook

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1/2 cup ice water

Place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor and pulse to combine. Slice the cold butter into the processor and pulse about 10 pulses until mixture has only small lumps of butter. Add ice water slowly while pulsing until the mixture just comes together in the food processor and doesn't fall apart when you squeeze some into your hand. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap, divide in half, and shape each half into a flat circle. Wrap each circle in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to a day.

Raspberry Rhubarb Pie
Adapted from the Junior League Centennial Cookbook

1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/2 tsp grated orange or lemon zest
2 cups, fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups fresh or unthawed frozen raspberries
2 T butter

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a pie plate with pastry. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and citrus zest in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the raspberries and rhubarb. Add sugar mixture to the fruit mixture and stir gently to combine. Place the mixture into the pie plate and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and seal and flute the edges. Brush top with heavy cream or beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake 45 minutes or until crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. Cover pie with foil during baking if the crust is getting too browned.