Summer Berry Pie

Credit once again goes to Cook's Illustrated for this gem.

Because berries are very acidic, it's best to use non-reactive cookware like stainless steel or non-stick saucepans, silicon spatulas, and wooden spoons for this recipe.

Summer Berry Pie
one 9-inch pie, serves 6-8


Graham cracker crust

• 9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted and warm

Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt 5 tbsp. butter in the microwave.  In a food processor, process 9 graham crackers until evenly fine, about 30 seconds.  (This should yield about 1 cup of crumbs.)  Add 2 tbsp. of granulated sugar and pulse to combine. Continue to pulse while adding the warm melted butter in steady stream. Pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Transfer the crust mixture to a 9-inch glass pie plate.  Form the crust by pressing down and around with a 1/2-cup dry measuring cup.

Bake the crust at 325 until fragrant and beginning to brown, 15 to 18 minutes.  Transfer the plate to a wire rack and let it cool completely while you make the filling.

Pie filling

• 2 cups fresh raspberries (~9 oz.)
• 2 cups fresh blackberries (~11 oz.)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries (~10 oz.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. red currant or apple jelly

Combine all the berries in a large colander and rinse them gently, being careful not to bruise them.  Spread the washed berries on rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels, and pat them dry.

In a food processor, puree 2.5 cups of the mixed berries for at least 1 minute, until smooth. To remove the seeds, strain the puree through a mesh strainer into a small nonreactive saucepan, scraping with a spatula to extract as much puree as possible.  This should yield 1.25 to 1.5 cups.  If not, keep scraping!

Whisk together in a small bowl:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt

Whisk this dry ingredient mixture into the puree.  Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a non-reactive spoon to avoid scorching the bottom.  When the mixture has thickened to the consistency of pudding, remove it from the heat and add 1 tsp. lemon juice.  Set it aside to cool slightly.

Place all the remaining whole berries into a medium bowl. Melt 2 tsp. red currant (or apple) jelly in second small saucepan over low heat.  Pour the melted jelly over the whole berries and toss gently to coat them.  (This increases their sweetness while giving them a beautiful glossy sheen.)

Pour the slightly cooled puree into the baked and cooled graham cracker pie shell, then add the whole fresh berries.  Loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 3 hours to set the puree.