Recipe for "straw-rhu-pie"

NAME

     STRAW-RHU-PIE - A sweet and tart dessert
     This recipe came from the Los Angeles Times about  15  years
     ago.

INGREDIENTS (serves 8)

          PIE CRUST
     225 g     flour
     170 g     shortening
     75 ml     cold water or milk (milk preferred)
          PIE FILLING
     200 g     sugar
     60 g      tapioca  (tapioca  starch  preferred,  but  quick-
               cooking tapioca is ok too)
     500 g     rhubarb, cut into 1-cm pieces
     1-1.5 kg   strawberries

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Cut the stawberries in half.  Place in a bowl with
               the  rhubarb  and  add the sugar and tapioca.  Mix
               and let sit for at least 15 minutes.
          (2)  Make the pie crust:  Cut the shortening and  flour
               together.   This can be done with two knives, with
               a pastry cutter, or with some electric mixers.  (I
               do  mine  in  a  Kitchenaid food processor/mixer.)
               When the  mixture  has  an  even  consistency  (it
               should  resemble coarse sand), add in the milk (or
               water).  Take about 5/8ths of the dough  and  roll
               out  on  a  floured board until it is a little bit
               larger than a 25-cm pie pan.  Put this in the  pie
               pan.  (The rest of the dough is for the top of the
               pie.)
          (3)  Pour the strawberries and rhubarb mixture into the
               pie crust.
          (4)  Roll out the remainder of the pie crust.  Place on
               top  of the pie, crimping the edges of the top and
               bottom crusts together.  Make one or two slits  in
               the top of the crust for steam to escape.
          (5)  Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 200 deg. C or until syrup
               boils with heavy bubbles that do not burst.

NOTES

     Strawberries and rhubarb are both  seasonal  fruits.   Their
     season is late spring/early summer.
     You can use 150 g sugar if you like it less sweet.
     I recommend putting a piece of aluminum foil under  the  pie
     as  it  is  cooking, because it invariably leaks.  This will
     save you from having to clean up the oven.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time: Preparation:  20-25  minutes;  bak-
     ing: 45-50 minutes; cooling: 30 minutes.  Precision: Measure
     the crust ingredients!

CONTRIBUTOR

     Aviva Garrett
     Santa Cruz, CA
     Excelan, Inc., San Jose
     ucbvax!mtxinu!excelan!aviva