bothered: strawberry strudel

I think I'm getting old. Things that didn't used to bother me at all are bothering me.

Late June bothers me.

The heat bothers me.

The late June heat in New York City BOTHERS me.

Sticky subways? ... bothering. Sweat trickling down the back of my silk dress? Boom! Bothered.

So this might be the last heat-inducing (read: oven-using) recipe for awhile, because I am doing everything I can to stay cool (read: nekkidly writing this post as I sit in front of my A/C).

On the heels of all of the savory pasta recipes I've been posting lately, I got back to my baking roots this weekend to put the farm-fresh strawberries that have been sitting/ripening in my fridge to good use.

First I wanted to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie again since it was SO GOOD the last time, but I was out of rhubarb and knew I couldn't make it to the Union Square Greenmarket before the weekend was over. So I set out to make a strawberry pie. Turns out if you Google "Strawberry Pie" most of the recipes that pop up include jello. And I don't really like jello (unless it's in Mom's Christmas dinner "pretzel salad" - did anyone else's Mom make that growing up?).

But then I found a lovely blog called "What Geeks Eat" and a recipe for a rustic strawberry pie that reminded me of the delicious apple galette I made back in September - and that was all I needed to break out the flour, pastry cutter, and chilled butter and get to work.

This came out of the oven and after slicing it open, Bf declared it a "Strawberry Strudel," so I'm sticking with the name. The crust is my favorite, flakey and layered, and the strawberry middle is sweet but not too sweet - and having leftovers at my house doesn't bother me at all ;)

Strawberry Strudel

adapted from Vanessa's version at What Geeks Eat

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 tablespoons (or more) ice water (it took me 5 tbsp's)

1 qt ripe strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles course meal. Add 2 tbsp. ice water and blend just until dough begins to clump together, adding more water if dough is dry (I used a pastry cutter, old-school style). Gather dough into a ball, flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.

Roll out dough between sheets of parchment paper to 1/8-inch thick round, 14 inches in diameter. Remove top sheet of parchment. Using bottom sheet as aid, transfer dough on parchment to large unrimmed baking sheet.

Remove the leafy heads from the strawberries and if they are small enough you wont have to cut them. However, if they are larger than the end of your thumb, cut them in half. Add the sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch and stir to combine. Spoon the filling into the center of the crust, leaving about 3 inches of a crust border all the way around.

Using parchment as aid, fold plain crust border up over apples, pinching any cracks in crust. Brush crust with cold water and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F and continue baking until crust is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.