Rita's Recipe - Strawberry Pie

Fresh strawberry pie

Ingredients

About 3 pounds fresh strawberries, enough to make 8-10 cups after removing stems - see tip

1/3 cup sugar

3-4 tablespoons strawberry jam/preserves

4 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon cold water

Pinch or 2 of salt

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 baked pie crust

Whipped cream for garnish

Instructions

Cut strawberries into quarters, or eighths, if large.

Put 2 cups berries in saucepan and crush completely with potato masher.

Set aside rest of berries in large bowl.

To berries in saucepan, stir in sugar, 3 tablespoons strawberry jam, cornstarch, water and salt.

Bring to boil over medium heat. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Mixture starts out opaque but cooks up somewhat translucent. Add bit more jam if you like.

Add cooked strawberry mixture, lemon juice and vanilla to strawberries in bowl and stir gently to combine well.

Pour into baked crust, smooth top a bit and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Depending upon the ripeness of the berries, it will set up pretty firm or a bit less firm. Either way, it’s yummy!

Serve with creme Chantilly.

Adapted slightly from New York Times.

Creme chantilly

No real recipe, but here’s how I do it.

Whip a cup of very cold whipping cream with 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whip until soft, but stable, peaks form.