Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

English springtime hits like a bomb, bringing with it flowers galore, hay fever a plenty, and produce extraordinaire. New season rhubarb is hitting our weekly fruit and vegetable box and there’s no better way to use it than in good old, American, lattice-topped, vanilla ice cream-on-the-side, pie.

This crust is the best recipe I’ve ever come across: it’s easy, I use my hands (no food processor) and – importantly for me – it’s forgiving. You can use it for any kind of pie, but there are few better than this one.

I based this pie – a real crowd pleaser – on a filling recipe from Epicurious and a crust recipe from the New York Times. I think it’s the perfect strawberry rhubarb pie. If strawberry rhubarb isn’t your thing, it should be, but you can still use this pie crust for whatever pie you like. NB: it makes a lot of crust, probably more than you need. Don’t throw away the scraps: you may even have enough to make two pies. I love to roll out my scraps into a big oval, spread the middle with a thin layer of apricot jam, top with apple slices, then fold the edges over to make the best kind of homemade pop tart.

FOR THE CRUST

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
•  ½ teaspoon salt
•  ¾ teaspoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 15 tablespoons unsalted butter (almost 2 sticks), very cold and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
•  ½ cup ice-cold water
• 1 tablespoons milk

FOR THE FILLING (just eyeball the fruit quantities)

• 3 1/2 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds untrimmed)
• 1 16-ounce container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water (for glaze)

Prepare the pastry: combine the flour, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, work half of the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Quickly work the remaining butter into the dough until the biggest pieces are the size of lima beans. Drizzle in the water in several additions, tossing and mixing between each. (It should look rather ropy and rough.) Stop adding water when a few bits of dry flour remain in the bottom of the bowl; do not overwork the dough. Gather two-thirds of the dough and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Do the same with the remaining third. Flatten into disks and stick in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but you can do this part a few days ahead if you want.

When the dough is chilled, roll out the larger piece with a rolling pin on a floured surface: you’ll need to have a lot of flour on hand, as it will tend to stick. Carefully fit the rolled out dough into a pie plate, so it fits up and over the sides. (You don’t have to grease or line it with anything.)

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Combine all the pie filling ingredients in large bowl and toss to blend, then pour it into the pie shell. It may look like there’s too much liquid – that’s ok, it will thicken once it’s cooked and cooled.

Roll out the smaller dough disk on the lightly floured surface. Slice it into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Arrange half the strips evenly spaced over the fruit filling then, draping the ends over the edge. Then, layer the remaining strips over at a diagonal angle to form a sort of lattice. Trim the ends of dough strips to be even with overhang of bottom crust, and press them together to seal. Crimp edges with a fork, if desired, then make the glaze (1 egg yolk + a tiny dash of water) and brush it over the crust. If you want some extra sparkle (you do), sprinkle some granulated sugar over the dough. Transfer pie to baking sheet (as it will probably bubble and may overflow).* Bake for 20 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake pie until golden and filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. The filling will set as it cools. Cool completely before serving with whipped cream, ice cream or Greek yogurt. Can be made a day or two in advance.

* NB: the edges of your crust might brown too fast, as mine did. To prevent this, you can cover the edges with tin foil for the first 20 – 30 minutes and then remove.