My mother in law recently gave me a big bunch of fresh rhubarb. I was thrilled, but also a little nervous – I've always loved the flavor, but never cooked or baked anything with it myself. After storing it in the fridge for a week while I mustered up the courage, I figured Father's Day was the perfect opportunity to take the plunge (plus rhubarb is one of my dad's faves, so there was no excuse). A traditional pie sounded too heavy (and incredibly daunting) so I opted for a light, no-bake strawberry rhubarb chiffon pie. Pie isn't really one of those things you can taste to make sure it's good, so I brought a backup dessert just in case, but it was a hit (and all gone in about 15 minutes)!
Strawberry Rhubarb Chiffon Pie
ingredients
1 premade graham cracker crust
1 package gelatin (I used strawberry, but may opt for plain next time so the flavor doesn't takeover)
1 C boiling water
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
3 T lemon juice
1 C whipping cream (next time I'd like to swap this for plain or vanilla greek yogurt for a healthier take)
2 C strawberry rhubarb sauce (directions below)
whipped topping (I like Tru Whip, it's all natural and tastes great)
strawberry rhubarb sauce
3 C diced rhubarb (about 1/2 inch pieces)
3 C shopped strawberries
1 T lemon juice
1/3 C water
1/3 C sugar
directions - strawberry rhubarb sauce
in a sauce pan, heat sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add rhubarb, simmer for 15 min until pieces soften. Add strawberries and lemon juice and simmer for an additional 10 minutes until all combined. Allow to cool, then pulse mixture in blender until smooth. Set aside for now.
directions
• In a large bowl, combine gelatin with boiling water. Stir in lemon peel and lemon juice. Place bowl in a large bowl of ice water, stirring frequently until mix is partially set (kinda like the consistency of unbeaten egg whites) - about 10-15 min. Mine started to set a little more, but this was okay.
• In a medium bowl beat whipping cream with mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (mine never got very thick, but this was alright. I think greek yogurt next time would work well, eliminating this step). Add cream and rhubarb sauce to gelatin mixture and mix together using a spatula. Cover and chill for 30-45 min until mixture thickens and mounds when spooned.
• Transfer mix to pie crust, cover and chill for at least 8 hours or until firm. Just before serving, spread whipped topping over top of pie if desired (slicing the pie is kind of fun, pieces are like whipped jello jigglers!)
Enjoy!
