Lavender + Strawberry Pie

Fresh strawberry pie has got to be one of my favorite desserts of all time.  Picture this: buttery, flaky pie crust,  farmer’s market berries drenched in sweet lavender glaze, and all finished off with a generous dollop of whipped cream.  Yum.  Pretty much summer served in a pie crust.  Not to mention that it’s super easy to make and requires little to no baking (depending on what route you go with the pie crust). Just two more reasons why I love this pie: the strawberries came from the St. Paul Farmer’s Market and the lavender came from my own garden! This is real food, people!

When I started off wanting to make my own fresh strawberry pie, I could not find a single recipe without jell-o! Challenge accepted. I made my own jell-o free version. Nothing against America’s favorite gelatin, I just figured a beautiful pie with homemade crust, Minnesota-grown strawberries, and home-grown lavender deserved something better than jell-o. This glaze is made up of water, sugar, cornstarch, a pinch of salt, and lavender plus a few extra berries to get that pink color.

Now as far as the crust goes, you can use your grandma’s recipe, do a gluten-free one, buy a pre-made crust… whatever floats your boat!  Honestly, I wasn’t about to come up with my own pie crust recipe; so I just used Martha Stewart’s pate brisee recipe which I highly recommend!

 Lavender + Strawberry Pie

Servings: 8 / Prep time: 25 min

• 7 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
• baked pie crust, cooled
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 TB corn starch
• pinch of salt
• 1 TB lavender buds, fresh or dried
• 1 cup water

Once crust is cooled and berries have been prepped, you can make the glaze.  Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small saucepan and whisk so that there are no lumps of cornstarch left.  Next, add water, lavender, and few of your prepped berries (the berries will add color to the glaze).  Cook on medium heat until it begins to boil, and once it is boiling, let cook for about 5 more minutes or until thickened.  Be sure to whisk so that it does not burn.  When glaze is done, pour it through a fine mesh strainer to remove the lavender buds and berries.  Next, spread a small amount of glaze on the bottom of the pie crust.  Finally, add strawberries into crust and pour the glaze evenly over the berries.  Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before serving.

Best served with whipped cream on a warm summer night while sitting on the porch.