Deep Dish Strawberry Pie

1 pastry for a 9-inch deep dish pie crust

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled, divided

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¾ cup ginger ale

3 ½ tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Press pie crust pastry into a 1/2-inch deep dish pie plate. Prick bottom and sides of pastry with fork.

Bake in the preheated oven until lightly brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 1 to 3 minutes. Paint melted chocolate in the bottom and inside of cooled pie crust. Place chocolate-painted crust in freezer to harden the chocolate, about 30 minutes.

Place the prettiest strawberry, cut-side down, in the center of the chocolate crust. Arrange as many attractive strawberries as possible around the center strawberry, so they appear as circles around the center.

Mash the remaining strawberries in a bowl; transfer to a saucepan. Add sugar and lemon juice; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Whisk ginger ale and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth; gradually stir into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for about 5 minutes.

Spoon strawberry sauce over strawberries in pie shell. Chill in refrigerator until pie is set, at least 8 hours.