Nectarine & Blackberry Crumble Pie

By far the most important discovery I have so far made since moving to New York is that of the magical world of pie. Yes, pie. That simple, totally typical, all-American dessert. It's such a basic, widely-loved creation over here that it's almost taken for granted.  For those of us who have been bought up on crumbles, cakes, and flapjacks (this kind, not this kind), pie is a wonderful amalgamation of all my favorite things. Especially when it's a crumble pie, filled with bubbling fruit, and with a crust so thick it's almost too much for my teeth to handle.

On the subject of pie crust, I just want to take a moment to explain how it has taken me astoundingly long to get it right. I once spent a whole summer perfecting my French-inspired tart crusts, making them as thin, light, flaky, and buttery as possible. So whenever I roll out any pastry into a circle, up until this point in my life, I have immediately, automatically started treating it like that classic tarte au citron, and, inevitably, I am always disappointed by the lack of thick, crusty, almost burned, layered pie pastry when I cut into the tart-pie hybrid I have produced. However, it seems that I have finally managed to delete my muscle memory and I've managed to bake a pie where the crust is so thick that the crimping pretty much held it's shape, it's challenging to cut through, and it actually resembled the numerous slices I've eaten at Four and Twenty Blackbirds.

So, without further mumblings about my inability to not over-roll my pie dough, here's the recipe for the pie y'all need to make before we're out of nectarines for the year.

Nectarine and Blackberry Peach Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie. 

Pastry (barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (110 grams) unsalted butter, very cold, cubed

1 cup iced water

Place flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter has broken down into pieces which are no bigger than tiny peas. Add 1/2 cup iced water and pulse. If the dough is beginning to come together, remove from the food processor. If it needs more water, add a tiny bit more, but be careful to not to use any more than you need. Knead the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc shape. Wrap in cling film/plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Filling

4 nectarines, stones removed and thinly sliced

1/2 cup blackberries

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

5 teaspoons caster sugar

Place the nectarines, blackberries, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, and stir together. Add the flour and both sugars and toss gently to combine, trying not to break up the fruit too much.

Crumble (barely adapted from Lily Vanilli)

30 grams (1 ounce) flour

30 grams (1 ounce) dark brown sugar

30 grams (1 ounce) unsalted butter, cold, cubed

30 grams (1 ounce) rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour and sugar together. Add the butter and, using your fingers work it into the sugar and flour mixture until it has broken down and looks like breadcrumbs. Stir through the oats and the salt.

To Assemble the Pie

Flour, to roll and dust

Ice cream or whipped cream, to serve

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Roll the pastry out on a well-floured board into a circle at least 1 inch wider in diameter than your pie dish. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to your pie dish, and then unfold it. Fold the excess pastry back under the edge of the dough and crimp the edges as desired. Dust a couple of teaspoons of flour over the pastry base.

Pour in the fruit and sprinkle the crumble topping over it.

Place on a baking sheet (to catch any spillage) and bake in the oven for about an hour, or until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Let cool (this will take a couple of hours) before serving with ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

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Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Orient Village

I genuinely jumped for joy when B, doing his research the day before we left for Long Island, told me there was a Four and Twenty Blackbirds outlet a few miles from our AirBnb on the North Fork. So after our morning run to Bailie beach, our lemon and ricotta pancakes, and a walk and sunbathe at the stunning Orient State Park, we set off on a hunt for a slice of pie.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds is one of our all time favorite New York locations, serving the most wonderful pies, and, as Coop would say, a "damn fine cup of coffee". Typically we eat our way through the perfect fruit pie at Gownus, but this Orient location really trumps Brooklyn when it comes to location. 

Orient Village is one of the most picturesque places I have ever visited. The white houses with carefully colored shutters line the silent streets and elegant coast line. A few shops selling baskets (which I obviously couldn't resist buying), art, gifts, aprons, and houses are dotted down the main street. The locals travel around on upright bicycles with baskets on the front, or, if not, they have a golf buggy for the same purpose parked in their drive. The only sounds are the gentle chatter if friendly neighbors and retired friends, waves crashing on the sore, and seagulls flying overhead. We looked into buying a house there and then, but, sadly, (and somewhat unsurprisingly), they're rather out of our budget. I'll try again in a few years time.

So this slice of pie was enjoyed not with a view of the pungent Gowanus canal, but gazing out at my dream home (obviously being set opposite Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a requirement for every dream home). Rhubarb crumble pie was tart, and just sweet enough, the coffee was iced and strong, and papa's salted caramel apple pie was as perfect as that particular pie always, always is. It took a lot of self-control and lobster rolls to resist stopping at the slightly-out-of-the-way pie shop every afternoon. 

Four and Twenty Blackbirds in Orient is only open during the summer months, so make sure you hurry to get there before the season's up.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds, 1010 Village Lane, Orient, NY 11957

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Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pie

We first walked past the big pink sign pointing to Steve’s Key Lime Pie last September. I (in my food-obsessed head) took note, but for some reason ignored the instruction to turn left. It may have been because I was carrying two huge blue Ikea bags, or because I was running at 6.30 in the morningm so the pie shop probably wasn’t open. But last weekend we were in Red Hook empty handed, and so we turned left at the pie sign.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie is a tiny little shop. You open the door to a small line of people who fill the room, leading up to a counter, behind which is a rickety fridge full of lime pies in varying sizes, a freezer filled with their frozen pie-on-a-stick vacation, and a chest freezer full of ice for the limonade. No money has been spent on fuss or design or aesthetic pleasure: This place feels more like the hallway of a village hall than a much-loved, Brooklyn-famous pie store.

There is, however, something wonderful about a shop or a business which specializes so resolutely on one item. Besides the classic key lime pie, Steve has only expanded his repertoire to a mini frozen take on the pie, and cups of limonade. The key lime theme prevails, and he is not moving far from it. Once you’ve tasted the pie and sipped on the limonade, you’ll understand why. And you'll forgive them for the lack of interior design.

The key lime pie - of which we shared one small one due to the copious amounts of barbecue that we’d just eaten - has a buttery graham cracker crust, and is simply filled with a zesty, citrusy, zingy lime curd. It’s like the classic lemon tart’s exotic cousin. Next time we won’t be so stupid as to buy just a small one, no matter how many spare ribs we’ve just consumed. I passed on the limonade, for fear that I honestly couldn’t fit anything else in my stomach, but I - typically - then proceeded to drink all of B’s. With just a hint of sweetness, and plenty of ice, this is my new summer drink of choice. Add I think it should always come served with a slice of Steve’s unbeatable key lime pie.

Steve’s Key Lime Pie, 185 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231

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Norma's Cherry Pie

B and I turned up rather late to the obsessively watching Twin Peaks party. We finally finished watching the series 25 years later, last weekend. Every time Coop had a slice of Norma's cherry pie at the Double R diner during the show, B would whine that he really, really, really wanted some cherry pie. 

In his Christmas stocking B unwrapped an oh-so-fancy jar of cherry pie filling. The reference did not need to be explained. A few days ago, this filling found some pie crust, Joy the Baker's buttermilk double crust to be precise, and after bubbling away in the oven for a little while, we devoured piece after piece after piece of this fabulous cherry pie. Coop, you were right, that cherry pie really was worth the stop.

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