Lunch: Red Berry Rhubarb Pie

Recipe by Long Le This gorgeous berry pie took home first prize in the annual pie contest at Mission Pie in San Fransisco.

Ingredients

3 c. (375g) all-purpose flour
3 sticks salted butter, cold
1 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. (90mL) cold water

Instructions

Make the Pie Crust: Measure flour and spread it onto a pastry board or clean countertop. Cut butter into large chunks and lay pieces on top of flour. Flip each butter chunk once so the top sides are coated with flour. (If you hands are warm, rinse under cold water and dry well).
Press butter into flour with the heel of your hand. Scrape up flour and butter with pastry scraper and flip it over the pile. Keep pressing and scraping until butter becomes thin flakes pressed into the flour. Keep working until you see more butter flakes than loose flour. If butter flakes are big, break up until you have a combination of big flakes and crumbs.
Make a well in the middle of the pile, pour 1/4 cup water into it. Working quickly, use your fingertips to gently blend and distribute water evenly into dough. Scrape up dough and fold it over itself again. Do this under you have a somewhat cohesive lump of dough. Gather it into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic and let rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until cold.
After 30 minutes, remove dough from fridge and unwrap. Flour pastry board or counter liberally; place dough on board and flour the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll dough into an elongated rectangle. Pick up pastry brush, brush off excess flour from top, then pick up one end of the rectangle and fold it 2/3 of the way in. Brush flour off the newly folded section, then pick up other end and fold it over that section. Now it should be folded neatly into thirds.
Sprinkle more flour over everything. Turn the folded dough 90 degrees so that the seams are on the sides; roll the dough out again into a rectangle and repeat brushing and folding again. Repeat process once or twice more, then roll the dough out one last time into a smaller rectangle (sized so that when you cut it in half you get two square-shaped dough portions). Then reshape each into a rough circle by pushing the corners in. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before rolling into rounds for the pie. Tightly wrapped, dough will keep in the fridge for a few days.
Roll one round into a circle that's 2" to 3" larger than your 9" pie plate. Line the pie plate and par-bake crust at 425 degrees F until crust is set but not yet browned, about 20 minutes. Then lower oven temperature to 375 degrees F to bake the pie.
Make the Pie Filling: In a medium saucepan,cook half the raspberries, strawberries, and rhubarb pieces over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture has broken down and reduced, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked berries/rhubarb with the uncooked berries/rhubarb, grated apple, sugar, lemon juice, salt, potato starch, and vanilla paste. Mix gently to combine and set aside.
Make the Crumb Topping: Pulse oats and flour in a food processor until oats have turned into flour and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Transfer to a small bowl. Add brown sugar, salt, chopped almonds, and melted butter to the oat/flour mixture. Mix until combined.
Transfer pie filling into the par-baked pie shell. Press crumb topping on top of the pie and brush outer edges of the pie crust with egg wash.
Bake pie at 375 degrees F on a foil-lined baking sheet for 60 to 70 minutes. Let pie cool for at least 4 hours at room temperature or overnight to set.