Yesterday Susan Rebecca White, whose debut novel Bound South is on sale this week, revealed how, for her, being a member of a reading group goes way beyond talking about the book selections.Now she shares with us her recipe for Strawberry Pie. Perhaps you can pair it with a discussion of Bound South, which unfolds the multi-generational story of three Southern women whose lives intersect.
Susan Rebecca White's Strawberry Pie
I hesitate to give this recipe in the dead of winter, because you really shouldn't make it until strawberry season, which in Atlanta usually starts in late spring. But hold onto it until then, dreaming of the day when the weather is warm and the air at the farmer's market smells of ripe berries.
Ingredients:
1 baked and cooled pie shell (I use the recipe in Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis's The Gift of Southern Cooking. Also, the pre-rolled Pillsbury dough found in the freezer section of the grocery store is pretty good.)
For filling:
1 quart organic strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
For whipped cream:
1 cup whipping cream
2-4 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Wash and hull strawberries. Divide berries into two halves, picking the prettiest berries for one of the halves.
2. Place the prettiest berries, small ends pointing up, in the baked and cooled pie shell. Arrange in a single layer. They should fill the shell.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar with 3 T. corn starch.
4. In a large bowl, crush remaining berries with a fork, add sugar and corn starch mixture to them, stirring to combine.
5. In a saucepan, cook berry mixture at medium-low, stirring frequently. Mixture will at first be cloudy and opaque. Cook until mixture turns bright and clear, about 10 minutes. (Stirring the entire time so as not to scorch berries.)
6. Cool slightly. Spoon berry mixture over strawberries in shell. Cool pie in refrigerator for a couple of hours to set.
7. Beat whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Spoon over each slice of pie.
