When the season hands you amazing fruit, sometimes the best way to show it off is also one of the most simple — a fresh fruit pie. At least that’s how I’ve always felt, particularly during the summer months when the markets and produce aisles are a veritable rainbow of tender berries and fragrant stone fruits.

The strawberries in the photo above are from a trip to the market up in Sacramento last weekend. The pie recipe calls for about 2 1/2 pounds strawberries (but if you’re like me, buy a pound or two extra so you have some to enjoy on the way home). It’s a relatively simple recipe: mound the hulled berries in a prepared pie crust (I include my recipe below, but you could use store-bought if you’re pressed for time), piling them high in the shell, then drizzle over a homemade glaze. While you can find prepared glazes in the supermarket, a fruit glaze is super easy to make at home and the flavor is so much better. For my strawberry pie glaze, I like to combine fresh orange juice with water, sugar, a little white rum and a sprig of fresh mint, gently cooking the glaze on the stove-top with cornstarch until it thickens. The orange and mint complement the notes of the strawberries, brightening the flavors, and the rum adds a fun twist to the dish. Chill the pie, then serve generous slices alongside a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream.

It’s a perfect summer dessert. Oh, and the leftovers — if you happen to have any — make an even more perfect breakfast the next day.

STRAWBERRY PIE

Total time: About 1 hour, plus chilling times. Servings: makes 1 (9-inch) pie

FLAKY PIE CRUST

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup water

2 1/4 teaspoons cider vinegar

2 1/4 cups (9.6 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour

Generous 1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup cold shortening

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Ice water, if needed

In a small bowl, combine the sugar with the water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the cider vinegar, and cover and refrigerate until well-chilled
To make the dough, pulse together the flour and salt in a food processor until thoroughly combined (to make the dough by hand, use a large bowl and a pastry cutter or fork). Add the shortening and pulse until incorporated (the dough will resemble moist sand). Add the butter and pulse just until the butter mixture is reduced to pea-sized pieces. Sprinkle the sugar water over the mixture and pulse a few times until incorporated. Remove the crumbly mixture to a large bowl and very gently press or knead the mixture until it comes together to form a dough, adding additional ice water, a tablespoon at a time, if needed. Mold the dough into a disk roughly 6 inches in diameter. Cover the disk tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to 2 days.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large circle approximately 1/8-inch thick. Place in a baking dish or pan, trimming any excess that extends more than 1 inch from the sides of the dish and crimping the edges as desired. Use any extra dough to make a decorative border, or save for later use (it makes great cookies served with jam). Freeze the formed shell 20 to 30 minutes before filling and baking.
Heat the oven to 400-degrees. To blind-bake the crust, line the frozen shell with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until the outer edge of the crust is set and lightly golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the weights and liner, prick the sides and bottom with a fork (to prevent air bubbles), and bake until the bottom of the crust is dry and lightly colored, an additional 15 to 20 minutes.

STRAWBERRY PIE ASSEMBLY

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup water, divided

1/2 cup orange juice, from about 1 large orange

1/2 cup white rum

1 sprig mint

3 tablespoons cornstarch

8 cups hulled strawberries, from about 2 1/2 pounds

1 baked 9-inch single pie crust

In a medium, non-reactive saucepan, stir together the sugar, 1/2 cup water, the orange juice and rum. Gently crush the mint sprig to release the oils, and place the sprig in the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, about 5 minutes, and continue to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to marry the flavors. Remove from heat.
While the liquid is coming to a simmer, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining water to form a slurry. Stir the slurry into the pan, then heat the liquid over medium-low heat, cooking until the liquid just begins to bubble and the texture thickens, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and discard the mint sprig.
Arrange the strawberries in the prepared crust. Pour the thickened filling over the berries, then refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours to set the filling before serving.

Note: The pie dough and strawberry pie filling recipes are adapted from recipes I created while at the Los Angeles Times.