I have been at the farm this morning. The ingredients readily available usually inspire a revelation of something that I have not done in awhile. As I was growing up in the summer fruits were in abundance coming out of the orchards. Pie always says summer to me. The availability of raspberries and nectarines made me think of this delicious pie. A perfect blend of the sweet and tart, it is a real treat.
Whenever I have served this pie, people always remark that they would have never thought to put these two ingredients together in a pie. My friend Sue sent me this recipe a few years ago. I think she said she found it in Gourmet, which is one of our favorites and we love their work, but if it was not Gourmet we are going to give them credit for it anyway. You can always find great cookbooks from Gourmet in books section of our online store.
The dough for this can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator covered for a day.
Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 1/2 cup ice water
1/2 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon sugar
Filling
3 lb nectarines
1 1/2 cups raspberries
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 cup quick cooking tapioca
1/8 cup of cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
Crust
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl and with a pastry blender, or pulse in a food processor, until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Drizzle evenly with 5 tablespoons ice water and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful and If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water to dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just combined. Do not overwork, or pastry will be tough.
Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 6 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together with scraper and press into 2 balls, then flatten each into a 5-inch disk. Chill dough, each disk wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
Filling
Cut nectarines into 1/2 inch-wide wedges, then toss with raspberries and lemon juice in a large bowl. Grind tapioca to a powder in grinder, then whisk together with cornstarch, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Do not toss with fruit until dough is rolled out.
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and put a large sheet of foiI on rack. Preheat oven to 425°F.
Roll out disk of dough, 1 at a time (keep remaining disks chilled), on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, into rounds, then fit into pie plate (do not trim) and chill until ready to use.
Gently toss sugar mixture with fruit and place in the pie shell. Cover pie with pastry round and trim edges leaving a 1/2 inch overhang. Press the edges together and crimp. Brush pastry top with milk and sprinkle a over with sugar (1 tablespoons total). Cut several steam vents in the top of pie with a small sharp knife.
Bake pies on the foil for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake, checking frequently and covering the edges of the pie with a strip of foiI or pie shield if the crust is browning too fast. Bake until the crusts is golden brown and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes more.
Cool pie to room temperature on a rack at least 2 hours.
