1244. Fresh Strawberry Pie (No Bake)

This strawberry pie tasted more like anything strawberry I had had in years. You need a kilo of fresh strawberries, most of which will remain fresh. A quarter of the fruit will be cooked down in sugar and cornstarch to form a sticky and thick Turkish delight-like binder to glue all the other fruit into the pie as it cools.
There is no baking of the pie besides the crust, which is baked completely and cooled completely before the filling is made and added. The pie is best made and assembled up to one hour before serving. While still edible after a few hours or the next day, the consistency of the strawberry filling will become soft and loose.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbsp powder sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup (about) ice water

Filling:

1kg fresh strawberries

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp lime juice

1/8 tsp salt

Method:

To make the crust: Blend flour, powder sugar, and salt in large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture using pastry blender or fork. Stir in just enough water with fork until dough holds together.

Roll out the crust and line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Crimp the sides. Refrigerate about an hour until chilled through. Bake with baking beans for one hour in a preheated 350F oven. Allow to cool completely before making the filling.

Wash and hull all the berries, and cut them into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces. Set aside 3/4 of the berries. 

Place the remaining berries in a saucepan, with the sugar, cornflour, and water, and mash a bit. 

Cook over medium heat till the mixture gets really thick. 

Remove from the heat, and stir in the lime juice and salt.

Stir the cooked berry mixture into the uncooked berries.

Spread the filling over the prepared crust. Serve the pie warm; or chill for an hour before serving, to set the filling.

Top with whipped cream, if desired.

This pie is best enjoyed the same day it's made; the fresh berries will gradually exude their juice as the pie sits, thinning the filling. It'll still taste great the next day; it'll just be softer.

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