Haskap Raisin Pie

Another dish from last year as I froze it then baked it at my leisure in the winter, not likely to be repeated. Alas! This was delicious, and an excellent thing to do with all those haskaps. I just picked almost 3 quarts of them, and now I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do with them all - they are so sour they really do require dishes with sugar in them, unless you are just having a small handful in a salad.

At 8" this is one of the smaller pies I've made. I still recommend cutting it into 8 slices though, as it is extremely rich and intense. It has an almost mincemeat-like quality, but with the strong tart fruitiness of the haskaps.

8 servings
2 hours - 1 hour prep time, 1 hour bake time

Make the Pastry:
2 cups soft whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup mild vegetable oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup buttermilk

Measure and mix the flour and salt. Cut the butter into it with a pastry cutter, until it is the size of small peas. Mix in the vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Stir with a fork until everything is moistened and starting to stick together. Use your fingers to press it into a ball; if necessary add a few drops more of buttermilk until it does so. Cover and set aside until the filling is made.

Make the Filling & Finish:
2 cups haskaps
2/3 cup water
2 cups raisins
1 tablespoon rum (optional)
the finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour

Wash, drain, and pick over the haskaps. Put them in a pot with the water, raisins, rum, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the haskaps begin to fall apart and the raisins are soft. Remove from the heat, cover, and let cool.

Mix the sugar and flour well, then stir into the cooled haskap and raisin mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Divide the pastry into a slightly larger and a slightly smaller piece (60%/40%). Roll out the larger piece on a piece of parchment paper, lightly flouring the paper and the rolling pin as needed. When it is large enough to line an 8" pie plate, use it to do so.

Put the filling into the pie crust, and spread it out evenly. Roll out the remaining pastry to cover the pie. Lay it over the pie and peel off the parchment paper. Pinch the edges sealed, and trim them; cut some holes for steam to escape.

Bake the pie for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, until well browned and the fruit is bubbling. On which note, this is a good candidate for baking on a tray unless you like cleaning burnt sugar off the bottom of the oven - mine did not overflow but it looks distinctly possible.

I did not bake this right away, but froze it. Later I thawed it overnight then baked it, with excellent results.




Last year at this time I made Pasta with Sausage & Turnip Greens. 

Posted in: Ontario Food