Gluten Freebird

I am happily involved with nectarines. The perfect balance of sweet, juicy and slightly tart, this year’s crop is outstanding and I’ve escalated the courtship to a full-blown affair.

My favorite nectarines are the white nectarines at Quaker Valley Orchards, a stand you can find at Mt Pleasant, Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle. It’s all I can do to keep from filling a whole basket with their nectarines each week.

I went a bit overboard last week at the market. (I like to think of my purchases as supporting local industry.) Combine that haul with the brown bag o’ peaches from our CSA and I had fixings for a pie and thensome.

I love to bake pies, but wounded my pride with the failed blueberry pie of last month. So I decided to put myself in the hands of the Gluten-Free Pantry with their Perfect Pie Crust mix.

Part of the problem with gluten-free crusts is that there’s no gluten to hold it as a binding agent. It was nearly impossible for me to stretch the dough to make a lattice, but a bit of patchwork mostly tended to the problem. And the pie? Delicious. It’s probably best out of the fridge than freshly baked because the crust can use the congealed juices (it’s not gross, I promise) to bind it a bit. The gluten-free crust just doesn’t hold together as well, but that’s ok. It’s a summer pie.

Nectarine-Berry Pie with Black Pepper Crust

(adapted from LA Times)
Serves 8
2 pie crusts (1/2 package of Gluten-Free Pantry), prepared according to package instructions
1 sp black pepper, freshly ground
10 nectarines (about 3 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 cups blackberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tbs butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, divided
1 egg, beaten
1 tbs Demerara or turbinado sugar, could use any large-crystal sugar

Mix the pie crust, adding the tsp of black pepper to the crust. Refrigerate in two pieces (as per package instructions, approximately 1 hour).

In a large bowl, toss together the nectarines/peaches, blackberries and lemon juice. You should have about 4 cups of fruit. Set aside to macerate while you work on the dough.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and allow it to stand 10 to 15 minutes.

Roll out half of the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a pie plate and gently press it into the bottom and up the sides, leaving excess dough hanging over the edge. If you have trouble getting the crust off the work surface, you a metal spatula to loosen it.

Roll out the second round of dough into a rectangle about 13 by 10 inches and one-fourth-inch thick. Cut the dough lengthwise into eight strips about 1-inch-wide.

In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour the mixture over the fruit, stirring to coat. Then stir in the corn syrup. Fill the pie shell with the fruit, discarding about half of the juices. Top the fruit mixture with pieces of the butter.

Weave together the pieces of dough atop the pie to form a lattice. (Instructions here)

Pinch the edges of the dough together and fold the edges under to fit the pie dish. Pressing the rim of the dough between two fingers, flute the edges. Brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake for about 50 to 55 minutes until the pie is well-browned and bubbly. Let the pie cool to warm before serving.

Note: You can leave in all juices if you like, but the gluten-free crust tends not to absorb juices as well as a regular crust, so it’s best to be careful about extra liquids.