Sweet and Seasonal: Strawberry Pie

I was never a strawberry person. Remember those days when you were little and you had to choose between a strawberry and a chocolate milkshake. I always, always went for chocolate. Who cares about strawberry ice cream? That’s a fruit. Not a dessert.

Strawberry Pie

Imagine my surprise when I found myself snatching up boxes of fresh strawberries 3x a week at my local market. I never realized how vibrant and fresh they are. Strawberries even have a little crunch that makes them addicting. Sometimes when a produce or a fruit is in season, you just have to enjoy them. It’s a shame not to use something at its peak! On one of my crazy days of strawberry snatching, I wanted to make a rich yet light strawberry pie with mascarpone filling and a currant jelly/Cointreau sauce. It was such a satisfying and beautiful dessert.

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

• Pie crust (prepared pie crust or homemade pie crust)
• 1 cup Italian mascarpone cheese
• 1 box of fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup red currant jelly
• 2 tbsp Cointreau (orange liqeur, can substitute something similar)

Recipe

1. Bake pie crust according to package instructions. Let cool completely.
2. Spread 1/4 cup of the red currant jelly as a thin layer on the inside of the pie crust.
3. Spread mascarpone cheese in the pie.
4. Halve each strawberry and place the slices (inside facing toward the center of the pie) above the mascarpone decoratively.
5. Combine jelly and Cointreau in a small saucepan and heat, until jelly dissolves. Lighty brushed over strawberries to glaze. Pour the remainder carefully onto the top of the pie. Chill 1 hour before cutting.

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