Get great ingredients and get out of the way: This pie is that cooking philosophy personified. All it is is delicious fresh strawberries piled high on a cooked pie crust and covered in a light gelatin-sugar glaze. It is a featured dessert at the clam-cake-serving Chelo’s R.I. restaurants featured on page 34 of The Great Clam Cake and Fritter Guide and a family favorite, both at Chelo’s and at home, where the glaze was made with Jell-O. This family recipe first appeared in my Jell-O: A Biography.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/3 (1 ounce) package strawberry Jell-O gelatin
- 1/5 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 pints (about 2 pounds) fresh strawberries, sliced in halves
- 1 fully baked 8- or 9-inch pie shell
- Whipped cream or Cool Whip or Reddi-wip
Combine water, sugar, cornstarch and Jell-O in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until thickened (about 10 minutes). Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in lemon juice. Place in refrigerator another 10 minutes. Place sliced strawberries in a bowl and stir in all of the Jell-O glaze mixture — or only some of it, if you don’t like things too sugary and want to adjust the amount you use to your taste. Pour glazed fruit into pie shell. Top with whipped cream, Cool Whip or Reddi-wip. Serves 6 to 8.
Note: Jell-O glaze can be made ahead and refrigerated, then reheated to a glaze consistency shortly before using. Further note: This pie will be exactly as good as the strawberries you put in it. It almost goes without saying that they should be locally grown.