Chef's Table - May/June

“A Match Made in Heaven”
Chef John Zehnder, CEC, AAC
Some things just go together without question when it comes to food.  Bread & butter, salt & pepper, macaroni & cheese and pork & beans all good examples.
Here in Michigan, spring offers us another such pairing, strawberries and rhubarb.  A match made in heaven!  The combination of sweet succulent crimson strawberries offset by the bold acid bite of rhubarb excites and amuses our palates.
Best time for picking rhubarb is early spring before the tender stalks get stringy and tough.  One of my most vivid “kid memories” is the “pucker” one gets from dipping rhubarb in a bowl of sugar.  Don’t know if kids nowadays still do that sort of thing, probably not!
Anyway…here’s a good recipe from my heirloom files that is really good and a bit different because it has a streusel topping instead of the traditional lattice top more commonly found on most strawberry rhubarb pies.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE WITH STREUSEL TOPPING
One pre-made pie crust
1 ½ cups sugar
3 TBSP corn starch
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. fine grated orange peel
3 cups rhubarb cut into ½” pieces
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1. Using a large mixing bowl blend together sugar, cornstarch, salt and grated orange peel.
2. Add rhubarb and strawberries, toss until fruit is coated and let stand for 10-15 minutes so fruit juices form a syrupy liquid.
3. Roll out piecrust and place in a nine-inch pie tin.
4. Pour strawberry/rhubarb mix into pie shell.
5. Top with streusel and bake at 350F for 45 minute to one hour – when filling is bubbly and streusel is well browned.  If it looks like the streusel is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Filling must come to a boil inside the pie shell to thicken the cornstarch.

STREUSEL TOPPING
¾ cup TBSP cold butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 TBSP light brown sugar
1 cup regular rolled oats
(you can use quick oats but streusel will be softer)

Use a pastry cutter to cut cold butter into the flour, cinnamon and sugar
Keep mixing until the consistency of wet sand.
Fold in the oats until well mixed and set aside for 15 minutes
Sprinkle evenly over the filled pie shell and bake as directed.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
John Zehnder, Certified Executive Chef
Director of Zehnder's Food & Beverage
jzehnder@zehnders.com

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