Welcoming Spring with Strawberry Pie

While out and about last Saturday Mr X and I decided to take a peek at one of the many local Farmer's Markets. The markets here don't typically start until May as it's usually still pretty much winter here until then. We have very late springs and very early falls. In fact our last snowstorm of the year usually happens in May while our first one usually happens in mid-October.

The market was fun but a bit disappointing because I was hoping to take home some fresh strawberries or cherries or rhubarb. None of those have made an appearance at the markets yet. It's all still just baked or canned goods and some fresh herbs and spinach. I guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks.

We bought strawberries at the regular store instead. I've been wanting to try out a recipe I found on the blog Worth the Whisk: Strawberry Sour Cream Pie. Fresh strawberry pies are good but they don't seem like pie to me because you're just basically cooking a pie crust and putting fresh berries in it with some sweet glaze covering them and then maybe adding a bit of whipped cream. Don't get me wrong, it's delicious. But it's just somehow seems less like a pie and more like a fruit salad of sorts in a pie shell. But baked strawberry pies always seems to have an unappealing texture to me - an unappealing mushiness. I was curious if a cream-based strawberry pie would alleviate that issue to me. It did. The strawberries were still mushy, of course, but they were swirled into a creamy base that somehow made it work. Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it out yourself.(And hopefully you do!)

Our good camera's battery was dead so I had to make do with my camera phone. The pictures don't effectively convey the deliciousness of this pie. Mr X says the pictures make it look like a margarita pizza instead.

Strawberry Sour Cream Pie

• 1 unbaked pastry shell (preferably homemade)
• 1 qt. fresh strawberries
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cup sugar, reserve 1 tablespoon
• Dash salt
• 1 cup regular sour cream (NOT fat-free)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Hull and wash the strawberries, slice in halves, set aside.  Into a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar and salt.  Add sour cream and blend just until creamy (it will look like wallpaper paste).  Gently fold in the berries; don’t over-mix.  Pour fruit into pie shell and using a spatula, gently spread to edges but DO NOT PACK DOWN. There should be some air holes throughout.  Sprinkle the top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. 

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and bake an additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Broil for about 2-3 minutes, watching carefully, to “brown off” the top.  Serves 6 to 8.