The Epicurious Cookbook by Tanya Steel Page A

salt
    ⅔ cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
    ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
    About 10 tablespoons ice water
    FOR FILLING
    3½ cups (½-inch-thick) sliced trimmed rhubarb (1½ pounds untrimmed)
    1 (16-ounce) container strawberries, hulled, halved (about 3½ cups)
    ½ cup (packed) light brown sugar
    ½ cup granulated sugar
    ¼ cup cornstarch
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water, for glaze
    MAKE CRUST
    Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Using on/off pulses, cut in the shortening and butter until coarse meal forms. Blend in enough ice water 2 tablespoons at a time to form moist clumps. Gather the dough into a ball; cut in half. Flatten each half into a disk. Wrap separately in plastic; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
    MAKE FILLING
    1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the fruit, sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
    2. Roll out one dough disk on a floured work surface to a 13-inch round. Transfer to a glass pie dish. Trim the excess dough, leaving a ¾-inch overhang.
    3. Roll out the second dough disk on a lightly floured surface to a 13-inch round. Cut into 14 (½-inch-wide) strips. Spoon the filling into the crust. Arrange 7 dough strips atop the filling, spacing evenly. Form a lattice by placing the remaining dough strips in opposite directions atop the filling. Trim the ends of the dough strips even with the overhang of the bottom crust. Fold the strip ends and overhang under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively.
    4. Brush the glaze over the crust; transfer the pie to a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake the pie until golden and the filling thickens, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer the pie to a rack and cool completely.
    “I baked this pie for my husband’s birthday and used leftover rhubarb, strawberries, and (1½ cups) apricots. It was absolutely delicious.”
    do ahead:
    The CRUST can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling.
    key lime pie with almond crumb crust
    Squeezing a half-cup of fresh Key lime juice is quite the upper-arm workout, but the hard labor is worth it. In this recipe the traditional graham cracker crust gets a dose of lightly toasted ground almonds. If you don’t have a food processor, purchased almond flour works just as well. Go with the meringue topping, or replace it with whipped cream for a silky bite.
    YIELD: MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
    FOR CRUST
    1 cup zweiback crumbs or graham cracker crumbs
    ⅔ cup blanched almonds, toasted lightly, cooled completely, and ground fine in a food processor
    ½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
    ¼ cup sugar
    FOR FILLING
    3 large eggs, separated, the whites at room temperature
    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
    ½ cup Key lime juice (available bottled at specialty food shops) or fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
    ⅓ cup sugar
    Special equipment: 10-inch pie plate
    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, with the rack in the middle.
    2. In a medium bowl, combine well the crumbs, almonds, butter, and sugar. Press the mixture onto the bottom and up the side of a 10-inch pie plate. Bake the shell for 10 minutes, or until it is browned lightly. Let the shell cool on a rack.
    3. In a large bowl, beat the yolks with the condensed milk and stir in the lime juice, a little at a time, stirring to combine the filling well. Spoon the filling into the cooled shell and chill the pie for 1 hour.
    4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, beating, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat the meringue until it holds stiff peaks. Spread the meringue over the filling and bake for 15 minutes, or until the meringue is just golden. Chill the pie for 2 hours.
    “Instead of grinding the almonds