Recipe for healthy and fit strawberry pie with rhubarb (made from spelt flour)

The recipe for strawberry pie with rhubarb presents a variant that is healthy. With its content of necessary and beneficial substances, it gives the body enough energy to feel fit.

Strawberries are sweet, juicy and delicious.

They are said to have been cultivated since the time of ancient Rome.
They found their present-day, garden form in France in the second half of the 18th century, where they were created by breeding wild strawberries from North America and Chile.

Today, strawberries are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
There are more than 100 varieties of these perennial plants, specially bred for a wide range of climates and growing conditions.

The main strawberry season starts in April and ends in August.
Ironically, World Strawberry Day falls on 27 February.

10 reasons to say yes to strawberries

1. Strawberries are important for our health and beauty because they are a valuable source of vitamins - vitamin A, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), vitamin E (tocopherol). They are also a source of minerals - especially manganese, boron, potassium, fluorine, phosphorus, magnesium, cobalt, sulphur and calcium.
   The vitamin C content of strawberries is almost comparable to citrus fruits.
2. They improve brain function and nurture better memory.
   Serve them to your children (or yourself) during exam time.
3. They contain up to 90 per cent fluid and have minimal calories. They are therefore ideal for weight loss.
4. Eating foods high in water and fiber, such as strawberries, can help keep the body hydrated and bowel movements regular.
   Fiber is important in preventing constipation.
5. Strawberries also have excellent effects on our skin.
   Just mash them and massage them into the skin of the face in circular motions. The tiny grains make them act as a gentle scrub.
6. They improve the quality of tooth enamel and reduce the formation of cavities.
7. They contain the most manganese of all fruits.
   Manganese is an extremely important trace element that is needed for bone health.
8. Because of their high potassium content, strawberries are recommended for those with high blood pressure to help negate the effects of sodium in the body.
9. The effective antioxidants in strawberries can counteract free radicals.
   You will not have missed the red colour of strawberries. This is due to the presence of plant pigments (polyphenols) which have a strong antioxidant effect.
10. Strawberries are a great choice of fruit for diabetics because they have a low glycemic index.

In Belgium, an entire museum has been dedicated to strawberries. In addition to classics such as strawberry jam, you can also try strawberry beer.

Recipe for a healthy strawberry pie

Quality food is the basis of any healthy recipe. That's why we recommend using home-grown strawberries or strawberries from a certified grower. If you have no choice but to buy them from the store, please note the following:

• Strawberries should be medium-sized and "fatter". Extremely large strawberries are usually tasteless.
• If the ends are greenish or yellowish, the strawberries are not ripe. In addition to being tasteless, they will also be lower in vitamins.
• The stems must not be removed.
• They should not be too soft to the touch, by which time the rotting process has begun (they may contain more mould and yeast).
• If you buy them pre-packaged, sort them at home straight away.
• Strawberries are not suitable for storage; buy them just before eating.
• They will last a maximum of 2 days in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 300 g spelt flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 egg yolks
• 150 g softened butter (at least 82% butter)
• 1 egg for spreading
• 200 g rhubarb
• 200 g strawberries
• 60 g cane sugar

Prepare

• food foil
• roller
• a round baking tin with a corrugated edge and a removable bottom (diameter 28 cm)
• a feather duster

Procedure

1.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, a pinch of salt and baking powder and mix together.
Add the egg yolks and softened butter to the dry ingredients.
Using your hands, make a stiffer dough.

Wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Take it out before rolling it out. It will have a chance to soften a little at room temperature.

2.

While the dough is resting in the fridge, clean and slice first the rhubarb and then the strawberries.

Remove the skin from the rhubarb, which tends to be bitter.
When cleaning, just catch the fibers of the skin from the top and then just gently coat.

Cut the cleaned rhubarb into smaller cubes.
Transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle with cane sugar.
Stir well to let the rhubarb release its juice, and especially to coat it in sugar so it's nice and sweet.
Cut the strawberries into larger pieces.

Strawberries will let a lot of juice out during baking. If we cut them too small, they might get "lost".
Just cut small strawberries in half and large ones in quarters.

Add them to the chopped rhubarb, letting each piece of strawberry get coated in sugar. Stir gently and let stand.

3.

If the dough has already softened from the refrigerator at room temperature, we can start rolling it.

But first, set aside about 1/3 of the dough so that you can create a lattice on the pie at the end.

Gently press the remaining dough with your hands.

Don't be alarmed, the dough is a bit crumbly. This is due to the spelt flour, which behaves quite differently in the dough than the classic semi-coarse flour.

To avoid having to use flour when rolling, roll out the dough between two pieces of cling film.
Roll into a circle about 1 cm thick.

Line the entire bottom and edges of the baking tin with the dough. This tells you how big a circle you need to roll out.

4.
Transfer the dough into the tin by first placing the tin with the dough face up and inserting your hand under the foil.
Lift the dough with your hand and then turn it over.
Press the dough in the tin against the sides of the tin.

If the dough has broken off somewhere, because it is fragile, shape the broken pieces of dough and press it with your fingers.

Layer the rhubarb-strawberry mixture evenly over the prepared dough.

5.
Roll out the dough that you set aside earlier using the same method, but in the shape of a rectangle.
Then cut the rectangle into thin strips.
These will be carefully transferred to the cake to form a grid.

Then brush the grid and the edges of the pie with egg wash.

6.
Bake the cake for approximately 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 °C.
As the tin has a removable base, take care to hold it only by the sides when handling it.

When the cake is nicely browned on top and the fruit is cooked, remove it from the oven.
Let it cool completely before removing it from the tin.

How to do it?

Start by loosening the dough from the edges of the tin with your fingers.
Not from the centre, to make sure the dough comes away from the edges and doesn't stay inside. Otherwise it might break.
Only when the edges are loose, the side hoop of the tin will simply come away from the pie.
The pie can be left on the base and carefully cut.

Interesting facts about rhubarb:

1. It is mainly used in baking, as part of sweet pies. Therefore, it can be mistaken for a fruit. In fact, it is a vegetable. It is considered one of the most nutritious foods.

2. It has a very high content of oxalic acid, which is mainly found in the leaves. Even if we consume the stem and not the leaves, rhubarb is not suitable for daily consumption. We can indulge in it 1-2 times a week.

3. Rhubarb has a short period of time when it is suitable for consumption, from mid-May to mid-June. After the season, its oxalic acid content rises sharply and becomes dangerous to our health.

4. The ripeness of rhubarb is not only determined by the distinctive red colour of the stalks; this depends on the variety. Even greenish rhubarb is suitable for further processing.

5. Rhubarb should only be eaten cooked, never raw.

We hope you enjoy this healthy version of the fruit and vegetable pie.
Have a great taste!

Did you know that...
Strawberry flavour cannot be imitated?
It is one of the most complex scents that nature has created.
It consists of more than 300 known and many unknown substances.
The exact flavour cannot be created in the laboratory.
Therefore, strawberry lollipops will never taste like the real strawberry temptation.

Read also our other healthy recipes:

• Smoothie recipes from fruits, vegetables, for health, energy, weight loss?
• Do you know the effects of beetroot?
• Healthy recipe for spring cleaning?