Balsamic Black Raspberry Pie

Serves 8

Recipe from http://www.makebetterfood.com

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This has been a grand summer for black raspberries.  We bought loads of them and I’ve had fun using them up.  My husband and I enjoy them on our morning oatmeal, however, I’ve also made the following with this summer’s batch:  Black Raspberry Shrub; BerrySauce; Skip-the-Stove Chia Fruit Jam and Fresh Berry Pie withToasted Nut Crust.  I’m always looking for great pie recipes because I think a good pie is the best type of dessert there is.  I was intrigued with this recipe using balsamic vinegar and black pepper in the filling. So, I gave it a shot.  My husband said it was the best fruit pie he’d ever had!

1 recipe Perfect Pie Dough (or double crust pie dough equivalent)

7 cups fresh black raspberries

¼ cup cornstarch***

***Because my berries were quite juicy, I added a one heaping Tablespoon of tapioca to be sure the filling thickened.

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 425F. 

Roll out one of the disks of Perfect Pie Dough.  Place it in a glass pie plate.  Crimp the edges as desired.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill while preparing the pie filling.

Rinse the raspberries and drain well.  Place 1 cup of the raspberries in a large bowl.  Mash the berries.  Add the cornstarch* and mix well.  Add the sugar, honey, balsamic vinegar, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon and pepper to the mashed berry mixture.  Mix well.  Pour this over the rest of the raspberries.  Toss the raspberries very gently to coat with the sugar mixture. 

Pour the filling into the prepared pie plate. Dot with the butter pieces.  Cover the pie with the same plastic wrap and return the pie to the fridge to chill while you roll out the top of the pie dough.  Roll out the remaining pie dough disk.  Using a ruler as a straight edge, cut the dough into strips.  Remove the pie from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap.  Using the strips, make a lattice design over the top of the pie.  (If you decide to cover the pie with a solid sheet of pie dough, be sure to cut at least 4 slits into it so that it vents.)  Cover the pie again with the plastic wrap and place the prepared pie back in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to completely chill again.  (Flakey pie is the desired result and to achieve that, it’s important to chill the pie dough and then place it in a hot oven.)

Place the prepared (chilled pie) on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil or parchment paper because the pie will most likely bubble over a bit. 

Bake the pie at 425F for 20 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 375F.  Bake another 20 minutes.  Cover the edges of the pie loosely with foil to prevent burning.  Then continue baking for another 30 minutes.  (1 hour and 10 minutes total baking time.)

The pie is done when it is a toasty brown and the filling is bubbling.  Allow the pie to cool on a cooling rack for at least 3 hours before serving.  Serve alone or with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Before popping it in the oven.

Finished pie ready to eat!