Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie and Sour Cream Ice Cream for Early Summer

Thanks for letting me take a little extra time this weekend. The last few days were a blur of recipe testing, note-taking, laptop shopping and a lot of eating before Sue got back into the car and headed home to the Okanagan. After she left, Mike, W and I took a long walk at the dog park. Back at the house, instead of ordering pizza or taking a break from the kitchen, I made sour cream ice cream and then baked a strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I think what I wanted most was to make something simply for the pleasure of it — something that had nothing to do with beans and everything to do with the idea of summer arriving. Strawberries aren’t quite here yet, but W and I bought a big hanging strawberry plant at the garden centre, already dangling two ruby berries we ate in the car. My rhubarb has shot up overnight, and the combination begged for pie as soon as the berries arrive.

For the pastry I kept things straightforward. Pastry gets easier the more you make it. My usual method is to cut cold butter (and sometimes shortening or lard) into the flour, leaving pea-sized lumps of fat, then stir in just enough water by hand to bring it together without overworking the dough. This time I added the water into the food processor after the butter and gave it a few cautious pulses until the dough smeared slightly and gathered into a ball. It worked fine and produced a tender crust.

At the filling stage I hesitated between a full double-crust pie and a crumble-style top. I love crumble, but pastry isn’t hard and I wanted the look and texture of pastry with a crumbly topping. Ultimately I decided on an open-faced pie scattered with a buttery, sugary crumble — a compromise to highlight both the fruit and a crunchy contrast. The pie really is a vehicle for the ice cream.

When I tossed the chunked strawberries and chopped rhubarb with sugar and cornstarch I realized I’d already given my pie plate away to a neighbour. Not wanting to go completely freeform, I pressed the dough into a quiche pan, piled the fruit in the center and folded the edges up without fussing over crimping. It became a half-galette, half-pie — rustic in the best sense: unpretentious and honest. The topping got scattered over the filling and the edges were left relaxed rather than ornamental. Sometimes food looks better for being uncomplicated.

The sour cream ice cream deserves its own mention. It’s luxuriously tangy and soft — best served straight from the machine while it’s still creamy. The base is simple: sour cream, cream, sugar, a squeeze of lemon and a drop of vanilla, whisked together and churned. No custard to cook or chill, which is perfect when you want a quick, bright ice cream to serve over fruit pie. The flavour is like that classic brown sugar–sour cream dip for strawberries, but richer and silkier. I ate most of the batch before it even fully firmed in the freezer.

If you like variations, brown sugar stirred into the base or swirled in at the end is fantastic — it adds caramel notes that play nicely against the tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries. Serving a warm slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie with a generous scoop of soft sour cream ice cream is one of those simple, memorable pairings that make early summer special.

The pie I ended up with was rustic, slightly messy and exactly what I wanted: bright fruit, a tender crust, and a crunchy-sweet crumb topping. The ice cream brought the dish together, cutting the fruit’s tartness with cool creaminess. If you’re anticipating strawberry season, consider getting a plant, checking your rhubarb, and being ready to bake. When the berries arrive, a classic strawberry-rhubarb pie with sour cream ice cream is an easy way to celebrate the start of summer.

The sour cream ice cream recipe I used is adapted from a straightforward method often shared online — whisk sour cream, cream, sugar, lemon and vanilla, then churn in an ice cream maker. No custard step is required, which makes this a quick, satisfying dessert to pair with fruit pies.