makes one 9” lattice topped pie

See NOTE below re: par-baking the crust before filling.
 
All-butter double crust pie pastry:
 
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
7 ounces cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
5-6 tablespoons ice cold water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
 
Place the flour, salt and sugar together in a large bowl; whisk to combine. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, add the cold butter blending it into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of ice cold water and the tablespoon of vinegar onto the flour/butter mixture. Toss the mixture using a fork or your fingers, mixing just until the dough comes together. (If the mixture feels dry, add up to an additional tablespoon of water.) Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a disc and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out.
 
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one portion of the dough into a circle about 12” in diameter and about ⅛” thick. Gently place the dough into a 9” pie plate, being careful not to stretch it. Trim the excess dough so you have a 1” overhang, tuck this/roll this under to create a raised edge. Crimp the edge using your thumb and index finger.  Place the bottom crust in the refrigerator. Note: If time allows, it will significantly improve the crispness of the bottom crust if you par-bake it before filling. This will mean freezing the unbaked crust until it is firm (preferably 15 minutes), removing it from the freezer, lining the pie crust with parchment and filling it with pie weights or beans. place on a baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and weights/beans. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the dough is no longer raw on the bottom. Let the shell cool completely. It's a little more of an effort to attach lattice to a par-baked crust, but avoiding an under-baked bottom crust is worth the fiddle. 
Roll out the second half of dough for the lattice top on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper into a circle about 10” in diameter and about ⅛” thick. Use a pastry cutter or a knife to cut ten 1” wide lattice strips. Carefully slide the parchment paper with the lattice strips on to a baking sheet and put it back in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the egg wash - 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water and set aside with coarse sugar for sprinkling.
 
Rhubarb-Strawberry filling-
 
1½ pounds rhubarb, rinsed, leaves removed, trimmed and coarsely chopped (you will need 3½ cups)
1 quart fresh strawberries, lightly rinsed, stems removed, cut in quarters (you will need 3½ cups; save any extras for another use)
2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
pinch salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange zest
¼ cup finely ground instant tapioca
 
In a large bowl, toss just the rhubarb with the orange juice, lemon juice and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, orange zest and tapioca. Add the sugars/spices/tapioca to the rhubarb and let it sit for 30 minutes to soften the tapioca and the rhubarb. (Save the strawberries; you will add them later.)
 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Retrieve the cooled, par-baked bottom pie crust and the baking sheet with the lattice crust strips from the fridge.
Add the strawberries to the rhubarb mixture, using a rubber spatula to gently combine. Place the par-baked pie plate on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pour the filling into the pie shell. Brush the top edge of the bottom crust with a little of the egg wash. Place one lattice strip in the center of the pie, then another strip perpendicular to the first strip, forming a “t”. Add the remaining strips to create a lattice. Trim the lattice edges so they are no longer than 1 inch over the pie pan’s edge. Carefully tuck the lattice edges beneath the edge of the bottom crust. Seal the edges together, gently crimping with your fingers so you have a standing edge. Carefully brush the lattice with the egg wash, sprinkling with coarse sanding sugar. Place the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake it on the bottom rack of the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees. Then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for an additional 40 to 45 minutes, covering the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. The pie will be golden and the fruit will bubble around the edges and in the center of the pie when it is ready. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool for several hours before slicing. Refrigerate any leftovers.
 
                       
 

Makes one 9" pie

This pie happily stands alone without the chocolate dipped macaroon embellishment. If time allows, a half batch of the macaroon crust recipe will yield plenty to adorn your dessert. 

Macaroon Crust-
2⅔ cups coconut, total (I use 1⅓ cups of Angel Flake sweetened coconut and 1⅓ cups desiccated coconut)
4 tablespoons potato starch
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup sugar
4 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
 
In a large bowl, toss together the coconut and potato starch.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the salt, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla. Whisk until the whites and sugar are thoroughly combined. Pour the egg white mixture over the coconut mixture and use a rubber spatula to thoroughly combine the two. Pour the mixture into a heavy bottomed large saucepan. Cook over low heat for 8 minutes, stirring continuously with a rubber spatula to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into a clean bowl. Let cool completely.
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9” glass pie plate. Using an ice cream or cookie scoop, scoop the macaroon mixture into the pie plate. Dip your fingers in cold water and press the mixture evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate, creating an edge. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes, just until the pie shell is golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack and cool completely before filling.
 
Lemon filling-                adapted from BBC Good Food
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 cup lemon juice, strained (about 5 lemons)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (or a butter substitute such as Earth Balance)
one 9” Prebaked Macaroon Crust
 
Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, pinch of salt, potato starch and lemon juice. Place in a heavy bottomed saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking to start then stirring constantly with a rubber spatula. Cook until the mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes. (An insta-read thermometer should register 170 degrees F.) Remove the filling from the heat and pour the mixture through the fine mesh strainer. Let the filling cool for about 20 minutes then whisk in the butter until thoroughly incorporated. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the filling and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cooled pie shell on a baking sheet. Remove the plastic wrap, pour the lemon filling into the pie shell and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10-12 minutes until the filling sets around the edges and jiggles slightly in the middle. Set aside on a cooling rack while you prepare the meringue.
 
Toasty Meringue-
3 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup water
 
Set a Pyrex measuring cup next to the stove. Place the egg whites and vanilla in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together the sugar, cream of tartar, and water until the sugar is dissolved. Cook over low heat. When the sugar syrup reaches 240 degrees F, immediately pour it into the Pyrex measuring cup to stop further cooking. Turn the stand mixer on to medium and carefully pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites, being careful to avoid the whisk and the sides of the bowl. Add all of the syrup then turn the mixer to high. Beat at high speed for about 8 minutes until the egg whites are very thick. (Do not overbeat.) Use a rubber spatula to gently place the meringue on top of the lemon filling. Use an offset spatula to create spiky peaks of meringue. Toast the meringue using a handheld kitchen torch.  Let the pie cool on a rack for at least 4 hours before slicing. Refrigerate any leftovers.
 
(Note: You can prepare a half batch of the macaroon crust to make additional macaroons. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the mixture on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes (for small macaroons) 15-18 minutes (for larger macaroons). Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Coconut can turn from golden to dark rather quickly, so keep an eye on things. If you wish, when the macaroons cool, dip the bottoms in melted dark or semi-sweet chocolate. Contrary to popular belief, tart lemon and chocolate play nicely together in desserts.