Recipe: Strawberry-Apple Pie

STRAWBERRY-APPLE PIE
Source: The Hay Day Country Market Cookbook by Kim Rizk

If you like, make a lattice top with this cornmeal pastry; it holds up well and its rich yellow color shows off the filling. (The recipe also works fine with an all-purpose piecrust.)

4 cups thinly sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 4 cups)
1 quart fresh ripe strawberries, rinsed, hulled and thickly sliced (3 cups, sliced)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 Tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Sweet Butter Cornmeal Crust, rolled out for a 2-crust pie (recipe follows)
1 egg, separated
1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the apples, strawberries, lemon juice and vanilla together in a large bowl.

In another bowl, stir and toss the sugar, flour, arrowroot, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle the mixture over the fruit, toss to coat evenly, and set aside.

Lay the bottom crust in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate (preferably glass), and crimp the edges.

Lightly beat the egg white and brush it over the bottom crust. Spoon in the fruit mixture and any accumulated juices, cover with the top crust, and crimp the edges to seal.

Whisk the egg yolk with the milk, and brush this wash over all exposed surfaces of the crust. Then, using the tines of a fork, prick the crust in several places to create vent holes.

Bake in the middle of the oven until the juice is bubbling through the vents and the crust is nicely browned, 45 to 50 minutes. Place the pie on a wire rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving it either warm or at room temperature.

VARIATION:

BLACKBERRY-APPLE PIE:
Use 2 heaping cups of blackberries instead of the strawberries. Raspberries make a delicious pie, too.

SWEET BUTTER CORNMEAL CRUST:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup medium-grain stone-ground cornmeal
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter; chilled, sliced into small chunks
1 egg yolk
3 to 4 Tablespoons ice-cold water

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. *(Or follow the food processor instructions below)

In a small cup, whisk together the egg yolk and 3 Tablespoons ice-cold water. Sprinkle this over the cornmeal mixture, working it in with the tines of a fork until the dough, although somewhat crumbly, can be packed together with your hands. If it is still dry, add the remaining 1 Tablespoon ice-cold water. Knead the dough a couple of times in the bowl to form a solid mass.

Divide the dough in half, and using the heel of your hand, press each half out on a large sheet of wax paper to form a 5-inch round. Wrap each round well in wax paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll and handle easily.

*TO MAKE PASTRY IN FOOD PROCESSOR:
Measure the dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse five or six times to mix. Add the chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the ice-cold water through the feed tube, 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing to incorporate. Continue adding the water just until the dough begins to pull together.