Strawberry pie

Bueno bueno bueno, pues ya estamos en Houston. Así que pongámonos en modo Hostonian. No me refero a salir a la calle a hornear los bizcochos dándoles un paseo calle arriba y calle abajo sin más porque con el calor que hace para qué gastar electricidad, no, no me refiero a eso, que podría. Me refiero a hacer una americanada de receta. Y un pie es americano total. Hoy de fresas, que es de los que más me gustan.
We have landed in Houston at last. And I thought that it could be a good idea to get a little Houstonian. And by that I do not mean going for a walk just to get my cakes baked at the street temperature which could perfectly do the trick and save some electricity on my bill. What I mean is that I am going to share an American classic recipe. And what is more classic and more American than pie? Strawberry pie is one of my favourites.
Scroll down for recipe in English
Apple Pie. Si queréis hacerla con Thermomix también la tengo en esta otra receta de Pie de melocotón

Ingredientes

Para la masa de Pie
230 grs de mantequilla muy fría cortada en dados (la cortamos y la conservamos cortadita en el frigorífico hasta el momento de usarla)
350 grs de harina de todo uso
2 cucharadas soperas de azúcar (si la masa es para un pie salado, no las ponemos)
1 cucharadita de sal
100 grs de agua HELADA (aproximadamente)

Para el relleno
800-900 grs de fresas ya sin hojitas y cortadas en tres o cuatro trozos (aprox 1kg de fresas enteras)
30 grs de harina de maíz Maizena
150 grs de azúcar
Una pizca de canela
Un poco más de azúcar para espolvorear
Huevo batido para pintar


Preparación

Preparamos la masa como indica la receta de la Apple Pie. Con estas cantidades nos saldrán dos discos de masa que son los que emplearemos como base y como "tapa". Si hiciéramos el pie sin cubrir, sino con la fruta o el relleno que elijamos, descubierto, sólo necesitaríamos uno de los dos discos de masa.
Mientras la masa reposa en la nevera, mezclamos las  fresas cortadas con el azúcar, la maizena y la canela y reservamos mientras hacemos el siguiente paso que será estirar la masa. 
Sacamos un disco de la nevera y lo estiramos tan grande como necesitemos para que cubra bien el molde de pie que vayamos a usar. Podemos hacerlo grande o hacer tartaletas pequeñas como veis en algunas de las fotos de arriba. Para estirarlo podéis enharinar bien la encimera y el rodillo y también la masa y empezar a estirar rotando frecuentemente la masa para asegurarnos de que no se está quedando pegada. Podemos también estirarla entre dos papeles de horno para evitar que se pegue. 
 Cuando tengamos el disco estirado lo trasladamos a molde de pie y lo cubrimos con la masa. Rellenamos con la mezcla de fresas y reservamos el conjunto en la nevera mientras estiramos el otro disco de masa.
Estiramos el siguiente disco y podemos colocarlo encima sin más haciéndole unos agujeritos para que se escape el vapor y sellando bien los bordes apretando con los dedos o con un tenedor. O podemos hacer un enrejado. Tenéis los pasos de cómo hacerlo también en la receta del Apple Pie.
Reservamos la tarta montada en el congelador mientras precalentamos el horno a 200ºC. 
Cuando esté listo el horno, sacamos la tarta y la colocamos sobre una bandeja de horno cubierta con papel sulfurizado o de aluminio para recoger los jugos que se puedan escapar durante el horneado.  
Pintamos con huevo batido, espolvoreamos ligeramente con azúcar y horneamos en la posición más baja del horno durante 45 minutos. Si vemos que se dora demasiado cubrimos con papel de aluminio hacia el final de la cocción. 
Dejamos enfriar un rato para que se asiente y porque el sabor se intensifica mucho cuando no está demasiado caliente.

If I had to describe myself, over any other adjective I would say that I am cold-natured. I wouldn"t say tall, nor short, not fat, nor thin, not old... well I would definitely say young, yes... I am a young cold-natured person. And smart too. I am a smart young cold-natured person. But everything has its limits (I am talking about the cold natured thing). I know from experience that if warm temperatures go too far, that will change my nature. It has happened before. In those days I was very confident that my cold nature was a part of me and nothing could change it. So we went on vacation to Mallorca in the pre-TripAdvisor Era... When they announced at the reception desk that the promised air conditioning did not exist I remained calm. "I am cold natured. I don"t need air conditioning. I am going to be fine". The next week proved me wrong. Dragging the mattress out to the balcony was a bad idea too. We could not sleep at all. Except for the long hours that we spent in the car. We spent the whole week driving the island from end to end more than 10 times and taking naps inside the air conditioned little car instead of bathing in the blue watered glorious coves. It was a matter of priorities. We needed to sleep and to fix our inner thermostats.
It wasn"t until later that same summer on a trip to the Norh that I realized something in me wasn"t me at all. Those freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean in Galicia were not cold for me. Not anymore. I had never been able to plunge in the ocean before. All I ever could put in were my tiptoes. But suddenly I could spend hours swimming even under water! My head was not feeling as if my brain was getting damaged by the cold anymore! I actually enjoyed the crispy freezing feeling in my skin.
My husband thought that I was sick. This crazy change lasted for a couple of years. I think it was some kind of PTSD that I suffered from the extreme heat of Mallorca. I am back to normal now. I hope Houston does not change me again.
Ok, let"s get to the recipe! Strawberry pie is one of my favorites. And home made Pie Crust is unbeatable by any storebought one. So try to make it at home. It is really simple and you will be forever happy. You can find the tutorial for the Pie Crust in this Apple Pie recipe taht I shared one year ago. It is written in Spanish but there is a series of pictures that you can follow.
For the lattice crust you can find the pictures in that same recipe of Apple Pie.
Ingredients
for the Pie crust (makes 2) 
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup butter (unsalted) cold and diced. Dice it and then keep it in the fridge until you need it
1/3 cup VERY cold water
1 pinch of salt
for the strawberry filling
 2 lb strawberries cut into 2-4 pieces
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg beaten to brush
more granulated sugar to sprinkle on top

Directions 
 Prepare the pie crust following the instructions given in this Apple Pie recipe. You basically have to combine flour, sugar and salt and then cut the butter into the four mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2-3 pulses on a food processor. Then add cold water little by little and combine after each addition of water or pulse the food processor. It will be ready when you squeeze some of the dough in your hands and it holds together. You may not need all the water suggested in the ingredients list.
Cut the dough into two equal pieces and flat them to form two disks. Wrap them individually in plastic and keep them in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
To make the filling combine strawberries, cornstarch, sugar and cinnamon and  toss well to coat strawberries evenly. Set in the fridge.
Now take one of the pie crust disks out of the fridge and extend it using a rolling pin. Flour your work surface to prevent sticking and move the disk around to make sure it is not stuck as you are rolling it. Roll it until you get the size you need to cover your pie plate.
Transfer to the pie plate and fill with the strawberry filling and set everything in the fridge while you roll the other disk.
You can roll the other disk and just cover the pie with it making a few holes for the steam to come out, or you can try a lattice desing. You can see how I do mine again in the Apple Pie recipe.
Keep the whole pie in the freezer while you preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Once your oven preheated take your pie out of the freezer, place it on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and brush lightly with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with some granulated sugar. 
Bake in th elowest rack of your oven for 45. If the top of the pie browns too quickly you can cover it with aluminum foil.
Let cool for a while for the juices and flavors to set.

 


Now that I think about it, I always wanted a second oven! Ahora que lo pienso, siempre quise tener dos hornos!