Rhubarb Cream Cheese Pie with Fresh Strawberries

1 pie crust, baked in a deep 9-inch pie pan, cooled

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1½

pounds rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 4 cups or 1 pound prepped)

Custard

1½

cups (12 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

½

cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛teaspoon salt

To serve

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the rhubarb and toss until evenly coated.

Spoon the rhubarb mixture into the baked pie crust. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the pie from the oven and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the custard. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium to beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.

Stir in the vanilla and salt, then pour the custard into the pie and spread it evenly and smoothly over the rhubarb.

Return the pie to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the custard puffs up around the edges but is still slightly wobbly at the center. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Just before serving, heap the strawberries over the pie and dust with powdered sugar. Alternatively, the berries can be served alongside individual slices of pie.

The pie can be made a day in advance. If so, refrigerate it and top with the strawberries just before serving. Covered with plastic wrap, leftovers can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.

Serves 10.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 307 calories, 18 g fat (10 g saturated), 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 5 g protein, 77 mg cholesterol, 225 mg sodium.

"Rustic Fruit Desserts" by Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson (2009 Ten Speed Press)