Strawberry~Rhubarb Lattice Pie

For Mother's Day, I decided to bake one of my favorite pies--Strawberry~Rhubarb.  My Grandma Gladys introduced me to rhubarb, a misunderstood vegetable that longs to be a fruit ;-D  It's a perennial rhizome that is harvested mid-Spring thru early Summer and every year I awaited that first picking knowing grandma would make stewed rhubarb or rhubarb cobbler.   Their strawberries weren't ready yet, so it was just rhubarb, which was fine with me. (I started adding strawberries when we lived in California and I could get both of them at the same time.)

Rhubarb is primarily grown for its petioles (stalks) as the triangular leaves are toxic.  When we bought out home in Connecticut, you can imagine how thrilled I was that the previous owners had planted several rhubarb plants.  Our first spring-time harvest gave me so much rhubarb that even after several pies and a couple dozen jars of jelly, I was still able to freeze several bags for winter when I had a craving for it.

Strawberry~Rhubarb Lattice Pie
Pie dough for a double crust
4 cups fresh rhubarb, washed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 T. Instant Clear Jel (or Cornstarch or 5T all-purpose flour)

1/2 tsp. ground cardamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Tahitian ground vanilla bean (or 1 vanilla bean split and scraped)

 Pinch of Kosher salt
2 T unsalted butter


Preheat oven to 400F-degrees.  Remove 2 discs of chilled pie dough from refrigerator.  Roll out one disc and place in a 9-inch pie dish.

Roll out second disc and using a pastry wheel cut 1-inch strips.  Form the lattice on a piece of parchment-lined baking sheet.

Return the pie dish to the refrigerator to chill and place the baking sheet, with the lattice, in the freezer.


Wash and cut up the rhubarb and strawberries.

Add all the ingredients to the bowl and stir gently to combine, making sure you coat all the fruit.

Remove pie dish from refrigerator and spoon the fruit mixture into it.  Dot with the butter.

Remove the lattice top from the freezer.  Pick up the parchment sheet, turn it upside down and lay the lattice top over the fruit.  Remove the parchment.

Pinch up around the edges to seal, adding a decorative edge.  Brush the entire surface of the dough with some heavy cream or half & half.  Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

Place pie dish back on the baking sheet with parchment paper under it.  Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then, lower the temperature to 350F-degrees and continue baking 35 to 45 minutes until golden brown and the juices are flowing.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving...if you can wait.  I could only wait about 30 minutes before I cut into the pie and scooped up some strawberry ice cream to accompany it.


Today, has been a difficult day; missing my mother, my grandmother, and my daughter, Kelly.  I wanted to bake so I could share with all of you some memories that bring back some happy times.  Wishing all of the beautiful mothers, in this blogging community, a Happy Mother's Day. Enjoy!