Rhubarb comes into season early in spring when there’s little else at the farmers’ market to cook with. It is delicious in pies, cobblers, and crisps, and it is particularly pretty bubbling out from beneath a lattice crust. Look for rhubarb with deep-red stalks, as they make the best-looking pie. If you’re running short on time, skip the lattice and top with a second crust. 8 servings
Crust
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, then frozen 15 minutes
6 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling
10 cups 1-inch pieces trimmed fresh rhubarb (about 2½ pounds)
⅔ cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup orange juice
2½ teaspoons finely grated orange peel
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ cup strawberry preserves
1 tablespoon heavy whipping creamVanilla ice cream
CRUST: Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 6 tablespoons ice water. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
FILLING: Combine rhubarb, ⅔ cup sugar, orange juice, orange peel, and cardamom in large deep skillet. Toss over medium-high heat until liquid starts to bubble. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until rhubarb is almost tender, occasionally stirring very gently to keep rhubarb intact, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to colander set over bowl. Drain well. Add syrup from bowl to skillet. Boil until juices in skillet are thick and reduced to ⅔ cup, adding any additional drained syrup from bowl, about 7 minutes. Mix in preserves. Cool mixture in skillet 15 minutes. Very gently fold in rhubarb (do not overmix or rhubarb will fall apart).
Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out larger dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Roll out smaller dough disk on lightly floured surface to 11-inch round; cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Spoon filling into crust. Arrange 6 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Place 5 dough strips at right angle atop first 6 strips, forming lattice. Seal strip ends to crust edge. Stir cream and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar in small bowl to blend. Brush over lattice, but not crust edge.
Bake pie until filling bubbles thickly and crust is golden, covering edge with foil collar if browning too quickly, about 55 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack. Cut into wedges and serve with ice cream.
You’ve never had a cherry pie this good. It’s got an incredible sour-cherry filling, a light and flaky crust, and vanilla ice cream to top it all off. Sour-cherry season is short—in the United States it runs from mid-June to early July—and fresh ones are not widely available. If you can’t find fresh sour cherries, you can sometimes buy them frozen (thaw and drain them before measuring), or you can substitute sweet cherries and extra lemon juice. Frozen sour cherries can be ordered online from Friske Orchards in Michigan (apples-cherries.com). To create a woven lattice crust for this pie, see Crust 101 on page 213 for instructions. For a more rustic look, trim the excess crust instead of forming a crimped edge. 8 servings
Crust
2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
Filling
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
5 cups whole pitted sour cherries or dark sweet cherries (from about 2 pounds whole unpitted cherries)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (if using sour cherries) or 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (if using dark sweet cherries)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
MilkVanilla ice cream
CRUST: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until small pea-size clumps form. Add 5 tablespoons ice water; mix lightly with fork until dough holds together when small pieces are pressed between fingertips, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
FILLING: Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Stir in cherries, lemon juice, and vanilla; set aside.
Roll out 1 dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to ½ inch. Roll out second dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Using large knife or pastry wheel with fluted edge, cut ten ¾-inch-wide strips from dough round. Transfer filling to dough-lined dish, mounding slightly in center. Dot with butter. Arrange 5 dough strips atop filling, spacing evenly. Place remaining 5 dough strips at right angle atop first 5 strips, forming lattice. Trim dough strip overhang to ½ inch. Fold bottom crust over ends of dough strips; crimp edges to seal. Brush lattice crust (not edges) with milk. Sprinkle lattice with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to bake until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, covering edges with foil collar if browning too quickly, about 1 hour longer. Transfer pie to rack and cool completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
A simple crumble topping of oats, almonds, and brown sugar gives this pie a rustic touch. 8 servings
Crust
1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons chilled non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces