I must apologize for my neglect of this
blog lately – I’ve been working feverishly on a new cookbook and find I don’t
have as much time to devote to extra-curricular activities as I’d like. But there are occasions when I come across a
beautiful ingredient, the look and fragrance of which compels me to make a
dessert and share it with you. Yesterday, I succumbed to a batch of fragrant
peaches at the farmers’ market. One sniff and I was committed. Next thing I
knew, I was rolling out pie dough, slicing peaches and laying down strips of
dough to form a lattice top. Nothing says summer like a home-baked peach pie. Simple
as they are, pies take time to craft, but they are worth every bit of the
effort that goes into them. For the pie crust, I chose to add a little whole
wheat flour to give it an earthy note that complements the sweet peaches. A bit
of white vinegar (undetectable in the finished pastry) make the crust tender,
while a sprinkling of
demerara sugar gives it some crunch. For the filling, I
decided not to peel the peaches; just sliced them and tossed them together with
some lemon juice and zest, ground cinnamon and some finely chopped crystallized
ginger. Quick-cooking tapioca thickens the juices in the finished pie. The
crust gets a jump on
browning when it’s put in a 425 degree F oven for the
first 15 minutes of baking. If you find it’s browning too quickly, simply tent
some foil over the top for the remainder of baking. After it’s cooled, serve a
slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or gelato. Perfection.
