I had never heard of Rainier cherries before. Apparently they are a cross between a Bing and a Van cherry (I think that's right). They are white/yellow in color with a blush of red. They are big and sweet. Yum! Well, I was reading through Pie trying to decide what to make and this recipe sounded interesting. I ultimately decided on the Peaches and Cream Pie.....until I was at the grocery store and saw Rainier cherries! So I knew I had to make 2 pies.
The thing that intrigued me about this recipe - more than just the cherry variety - was the technique for the top crust. Grated pastry. I had to try it. So here's the recipe....thoughts at the end.
Two-Crust pie pastry (you could probably do this with a store-crust but I'm not really sure. I'd make the pastry for this one)
5 cups fresh Rainier cherries, stemmed and pitted
1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
About 1 Tbsp coarse sugar or granulated sugar (for glaze)
1. If you haven't already, prepare the pastry. Shape the smaller ball (for the top crust) into a block rather than a disk. Refrigerate the larger half (for the bottom crust) till firm enough to roll, about 1 hour, and place the block in the freezer.
2. Roll the larger half of the pastry into a 13" circle. Place the pastry over a 9 1/2" deep dish pie pan. Tuck the pastry into the pan, without stretching it, and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cherries, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well, then set aside for 10 minutes to juice. Combine the remaining 2 Tbsp sugar and the cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir the mixture into the fruit. Turn the filling into the chilled pie shell and smooth the top of the fruit with your hands or a spoon.
4. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the other half of the pastry over the top of the fruit, as if it were a block of cheese, covering the filling more or less evenly. Sprinkle the coarse sugar evenly over the pastry.
5. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and rotate the pan 180 degrees so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Just in case, slide a large aluminum foil-lined baking sheet onto the rack below to catch any spills. Continue to bake till the top is golden brown and the juices bubble thickly around the edge, 25-30 minutes.
6. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish with vanilla or peach ice cream.
Again, this was pretty easy to make. Until I got to the top crust. Oh my...it took forever to grate the pastry. It was incredibly messy (Elaine had pastry shreds in her hair) and it was difficult to get the pastry pieces to fall where they should (you've grated cheese, you know). At one point, I tried to grate it over a plate instead but the pastry, as it warmed from my hands and the grating, started clumping together so I couldn't really transfer it to the pie. You have to grate the pastry over the pie. Then it looked weird. It made for a very crunchy top crust which isn't usually something I look for in a pie crust.
Overall, this was a good pie. I think if I make it again, I'll do a traditional top crust. Partly because grating the pastry was a pain and partly because it was crunchy (and I'm very particular about my pie crust/pastry). The cherry filling was delicious though. Phil liked the pie ok. Not a traditional cherry pie, obviously. Phil disagrees with the author though about serving it with ice cream. Rainier cherries are so sweet that you don't need the ice cream (like you do with a traditional tart cherry pie).
Another strange looking pie, I think. But tasty!
Before baking:
After baking:
4 comments:
This looks and sounds YUM. I agree with you that the top crust is more work than it's worth. While the crunch might add an interesting texture, one of my favorite things about pie is the crust, and I love it, especially, when the juices of a fruit pie bubble out through the steam vents and make a sticky goo. Mmm-mmm. Rainier cherries are easy to find here, too. I might have to give this one a try next week when we have game night at Barbara's.
I'm going to have to try making this pie. The older I get, the more I like cherry pies. I don't know if Martin likes cherry pies, but he usually eats whatever is in the refrigerator (hence, the 40 lb weight gain).
What is your pie crust recipe? (If its a secret, I understand!) I alternate b/t making my own and buying crusts. sometimes I substitute 1/3 of the flour for corn meal (I think that adds an interesting touch with blueberry pie). Martin isn't as fond of my corn meal crust, but he eats it :-)
No secret to my crust - I actually use Ken's recipes from Apple Pie Perfect and Pie. They're better than any other recipe I've used. (Actually Ken has a blueberry pie recipe in Pie that has a cornmeal crust. I've been thinking about trying it out...maybe I'll have to now.)
Yum. That's all I need to say. Oh, and I concur about not liking crunchy pie crust, and preferring soft, pliable with just a bit of texture to sink your teeth into crust.
I finish with:
YUM.
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