Everyone born on the Prairies has their favourite pie. Make that favourite pies. Do you linger over the pie table at the summer fair not sure which to choose? I do.
Especially if strawberry-rhubarb is an option when there’s also saskatoon, various cream types and cherry to choose from. Oh, what to do?
“Strawbarb” is always my first choice, a lovely pie whose flavours signal the changing of spring to summer, combining the last of the rhubarb with the first of the strawberries. But saskatoon is a close contender. My mom made loads of these luscious, purple-veined pies each summer. To smell and taste one evokes a time when there was no such things as clocks nor calendars, and summer lasted a long, long time.
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What seldom stuck around more than a day or two was a cherry pie. This was my father’s favourite, a man who did not dither over choices. Now that we grow our own sour, or tart, cherries, and have plenty more available at the local U-pick Prairie Adventure in Carman — the biggest cherry orchard in Manitoba — cherry pie has become an outstanding summer dessert around our house. Incidentally, these cherries are not sour. They were named so only to distinguish them from other varieties. Bake sour cherries into pies and their intense sweetness will explode on your taste buds.
Apple is my husband’s fav. He always gets particular about the apples they’re made with, though. No one makes an apple pie quite as good as those his mom makes with her plentiful farm apples.
I did a little reading up on pies as I worked on this column. Pies, many say, are a traditional working man’s food, a staple of farm labourers from the colder parts of Europe. Pies could be carried, stored, and packed easily. Pie makers learned the secrets to making the perfect fruit or meat pie in recipes we still love today. To eat a pie, or to take one out to the field where the guys are working, is to keep on enjoying a very long food tradition.
With berry picking just starting here’s a few pie recipes to make the most of local fruit season.
Saskatoon Meringue Pie
A saskatoon pie with a difference has a creamy mauve filling topped with fluffy meringue.
- 1 c. water
- 1 c. saskatoons
- 2 tbsp. grated lemon rind
- 3 tbsp. cornstarch
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. butter or margarine
Meringue:
- 3 egg whites
- 4 tbsp. granulated sugar
Combine water, saskatoons, lemon rind, sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan. Crush some of the berries to release the juice and cook over low heat until mixture is thick and clear. Add a tablespoon of hot mixture to beaten egg yolks then add egg yolks to saucepan and continue cooking and stirring for five minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and butter. Cool. Pour into cooled 9-inch pie shell and top with meringue.
To make meringue:
Beat egg whites until frothy then slowly add sugar and continue beating until all sugar is
dissolved and meringue will stand in stiff peaks. Spread evenly on pie filling and bake in 350 F 15 minutes or until evenly browned. Cool before serving.
Recipe courtesy of Alberta Fruit Growers Association
Tart Cherry Pie
- 4 c. pitted cherries
- 4 tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1-1/4 c. white sugar
- 1/4 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
- 1-1/2 tbsp. butter
Grandma’s Pie Pastry
- 3 c. flour
- 1-1/2 c. shortening
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. salt
Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening. Put approximately 1 to 1-1/2 cups of mixture in bowl. Add enough cold water to moisten and cut in with knife. When sticky, turn out onto floured surface to roll to desired pie plate size. Preheat oven to 400 F. Combine pie ingredients and let stand 15 minutes. Turn out into bottom crust and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and vent or arrange lattice pastry top. Bake for 50 minutes.
Recipe courtesy of Prairie Adventure Farm, Carman, Man.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
A strawberry-rhubarb pie is a bit runny if you cut it when it’s still warm. Cooled to room temperature, the juices will thicken.
- 3-1/2 c. rhubarb cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 c. strawberries, sliced
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 4 tbsp. quick-cooking or “Minute” tapioca*
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- 1 double-crust pie dough recipe for a 9-inch pie
*Or use an equivalent amount of cornstarch
Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large bowl, gently combine the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, salt, and orange zest. Let sit for 10 minutes. Prepare pastry dough and line the bottom of a pie plate with it. Trim to 1/2 inch from the edge. Place the filling into a pastry-lined pie dish. Roll out the second pastry dough and place over the pie. Trim the edges to an inch from the edge of the pie dish. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes (with a baking sheet on lower rack to catch juices that may spill out). Then reduce heat to 350 F, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, watching to make sure it is nicely browned and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
