Fresh Strawberry Lemon Pie

1 recipe Pastry for a single crust pie or frozen pie crust
9 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Several drops red food coloring (optional)
Fresh Mint Leaves (optional)
Finely Shredded lemon Peel

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare pastry for pie crust or use ready made crust (frozen). Bake in oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
2. For strawberry glaze, in a food processor or blender combine 1 1/2 cups of the strawberries and the water. Cover and process or blend until smooth. In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch; stir in pureed strawberries, Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 3 minutes more. If desired, stir in red food coloring. Remove from heat; cool for 10 minutes without stirring.
3. In a large bowl combine the remaining 7 1/2 cups strawberries and the strawberry blaze; toss gently to coat. Transfer strawberry mixture to the baked shell.
4. Chill pie for 1 to 3 hours. (After 3 ours, the bottom of the pastry will start to soften) If desired, top with lemon peel and fresh mint leaves.