Most years, with a week to go before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, I would be menu planning and baking up a storm. Last year we had 12 guests at the table, and just as many dishes. I have a standard five desserts that I prepare for the holiday. But not this year. Not by a long shot. But because I have so many recipes for this time of year, I thought I would share one this week.
I first served this Concord grape pie years ago on Rosh Hashana, after my mom served up an absolute feast to dozens of people. I believe we had fish that night. At that time, the grapes were green and from a CSA out of the Boston area. This year, the grapes are purple and were clipped from the vines that grow on our fence by our garden patch.
This is one of those recipes I hem and haw about sharing because it is so darn laborious. First there is the pie crust, which is done by hand, although it’s pretty simple and comes together in a minute. That gets refrigerated while you work on your grapes.
The grapes themselves are a bit of work. You start with 2½ pounds of fresh Concord grapes, which comes to about four cups when cleaned. Then — and here’s where it starts to get hickey-picky — you pinch the grapes from their skins into a saucepan while collecting the skins in a separate bowl. After cooking up the jelly insides with some sugar, you run the mixture through a food mill to separate the seeds. Phew.
If you’re still reading this and are willing to give it a shot, hooray! It’s a wonderful pie and perfectly seasonal. I promise it does not taste like Manishevitz! My husband actually thought it has a cranberry tartness, with the lemon and lemon zest. Plus, when do you get to eat grape pie?
Concord grape pie from “Deborah Madison’s America: The Vegetarian Table”Makes one 9-inch double crust pie; serves 6 to 8
Pie crust
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
12 Tablespoons ( ¾ cup ) unsalted chilled butter, cut into small pieces
6 to 7 Tablespoons ice water
Filling
2½ pounds purple or white Concord grapes
½ to ¾ cup sugar
4 to 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, or 1 Tablespoon quick-cooking tapioca
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
1 egg, beaten with 2 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Directions
To make the pie crust, stir together the flour and salt in a bowl. If you have a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Without a pastry blender, using two knives or your fingers, cut the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Using a fork, stir in the water one tablespoon at a time, adding only enough for the pastry to hold together when pressed. Gather the dough into a ball and divide into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
To make the filling, pluck the grapes off their stems. You should have about four cups. Pinch them out of their skins, putting the insides into a saucepan and the skins into a bowl. Put the pan over medium heat, add ½ cup sugar, and cook until the grapes turn white, about three minutes. Pass them through a food mill placed over a bowl to rid them of their seeds, then add the skins to the pulp. Taste and, if it seems sour, add the remaining sugar while the pulp is still hot. Whisk in the flour or tapioca (use the larger amount of flour if the grapes were watery) and add the lemon zest and lemon juice. Let the mixture stand while you roll out the pie.
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F. On a lightly floured board, roll the larger piece of dough into an 11-inch round. Ease it into a 9-inch pie pan and press it gently against the sides. Add the filling and brush the edges with water. Roll the second piece into a 9-inch round, set it over the filling, and crimp the edges. Make two slashes on the top for vents, and brush with the egg mixture.
Set the pie on a baking sheet in the center of the oven. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 degrees F and bake until the crust is nicely browned, about 25 minutes. Remove to a rack and cool. Serve warm.
Molly Parr lives in Florence with her husband and two young daughters. She’s been writing her food blog, Cheap Beets, since 2010. She was furloughed from Smith for the summer and is using the time to work on her first cookbook. Send questions or comments to molly.parr@gmail.com.
The Link Lonk
September 13, 2020 at 12:11AM
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There Is A Season: If not now for Concord grape pie, when? - GazetteNET
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