BOOM!
A little too assertive? I know – but I just can’t help myself! I wanted you to get up close and personal with this pie right out of the gate! You’re gonna love this!!!
Oh man, can I just tell you? I had the best day making this pie…
My dear friend and neighbor of 14 years shared her amazing recipe for Concord Grape Pie and even took time to hang in my kitchen and make it with me. Such a treat.
You know…girlfriends are like frosting on the cake of life. They make everything sweeter.
Karen and I have shared the privilege of watching each others’ kids grow up…we laugh at the same stuff, are moved by the same stuff, and have a ball when we’re together.
Karen is my wine buddy, my book buddy and the friend who, regardless of how long we might go without seeing each other, will pick up where we left off, as if it were yesterday.
We need these people in our lives. People who help create our happy memories. People who flesh out our history, who give us fun things to look forward to, but who can also stand in our kitchen and roll dough without needing to say a word… I love that. I am very blessed to call Karen my friend.
And when you try this pie…you’ll want her to be your friend, too!
Karen arrived with a basket of rinsed ripened concord grapes. Together we removed the grapes from the stems, discarding any that were inedible. From there, I was along for a ride that you’ll soon discover was great fun from start to finish…
To begin you’ll pinch each grape into a small pot so that the (inner) pulp pops out. Unlike the skins that are very dark purple, almost black, the pulp is green.
Once you pop the pulp out, retain the skins in a separate bowl that you’ll use a little bit later. Just so we’re clear – at this point, we have two vessels in front of us – one pot filled with pulp and a bowl filled with skins.
Next, bring the pulp to a rolling boil and let it go for about 5 minutes. All sorts of important things will happen in this 5 minutes…the fibers in the pulp break down releasing their grip on the seeds as well as to release some pectin that will ultimately help the pie-filling hold together. You might see a little foam on the top, that’s okay. Stir every few minutes while it’s boiling to keep it from burning.
Once the pulp is cooked down and still hot, remove the seeds by pressing the pulp through a sieve, using the back of a ladle, straight into the bowl of skins.
Add sugar, instant or minute tapioca (we used minute) and lemon juice then stir until fully combined. Allow the mixture to sit for up to 2 hours enabling the juices to extract maximum color from the skins as well as to allow the tapioca to absorb more of the juices. This is a good time to make the crust.
I had the dough ready to go and chilling in the refrigerator so all we had to do was roll and place in our pie plates.
Once the filling is set and the dough is ready, pour the mixture into the crust. Notice that amazing color…I can’t get over it. It’s gorgeous.
From there you’ll cover the filling with the top crust. You can design that any way you’d like. Lattice or a full crimped crust, just be sure to prick the top near the center 5 or 6 times with a knife to allow for steam to escape.
Karen’s…
Mine…
Karen shared a practical tip for shielding the edges to keep them from over-browning. We stapled 3 narrow pieces of tinfoil together then folded them over the edge. Just be sure to remove the shield 15 minutes prior to the end of baking time.
Place in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes then lower to 400 for another 40 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the crust is browned and grape juice begins to peek through the slits on top.
Voilà!
You can serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or enjoy it all on its own with a cold glass of milk…
Oh yeah…that’s what I’m talking about!
Concord Grape Pie is the perfect dessert to make someone feel special!
Such a great day! And such a lovely dessert!
Have fun with this one!
Buon Appetito!
Print
Concord Grape Pie
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups ripe concord grapes
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup minute tapioca
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 two-part pie crust
Instructions
- Rinse the grapes and pat them dry.
- Remove them from the stems and discard any that are green, hard, rotten or moldy.
- Pinch each grape into a small pot so the pulp pops out.
- Put the skins in a separate bowl.
- Bring the pulp to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes.
- Stir every few minutes while boiling to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- While the pulp is hot, remove the seeds by pressing the pulp through a sieve (using the back of a ladle) into the bowl of skins.
- In a small bowl combine the sugar with the tapioca then add it to the pulp mixture.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Stir and let rest for up to two hours.
- Prepare crust.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Put the bottom crust into pie plate and fill with grape mixture.
- Cover the filling with top crust.
- Prick the top near the center 5 or 6 times with a knife to allow steam to escape.
- If you have a pie shield for the edges, now is the time to put it on.
- Place pie on the center rack.
- Put a piece of foil on the bottom rack to catch drips.
- Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 400 and bake for another 40 minutes (remembering to remove shield 15 minutes prior to end time).
- The crust will be golden brown and grape juice will appear through the cuts in the top crust.
- Let cool for 2 hours.
{Recipe adapted from Irene Bouchard.}
Ciao!
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[…] we’re talking about delicious fruit pies, I have to tell you that Annie’s Concord Grape Pie on Ciao Chow Bambina is on my must-try list. With all the wine-making going on around here, this […]
yum! how creative to do a pie with grapes!
Oh yes!! So good! Thanks for stopping by Allyson!
Love a friend that shared a delicious recipe AND brings over the ingredients needed to make it. Karen sounds like a keeper.
Karen’s definitely a keeper! Thanks Sarah!
My family would love this pie! I just found your blog on Pinterest; how did I not know about you before? We have so much in common. I’m right behind you, with an empty nest coming soon. 🙂
Hi Andrea!
Wow! So nice to hear from you!! I’m about to scoot on over to your blog right now! Let’s keep in touch…we can share our empty nest stories!
Thank you for stopping by and enjoy that pie!
Annie
Yup, there’s our 5 star pie…bursting with color and flavor! It’s so much fun to make. Thanks for the kind words Ann; it was such a great day!
Ahhh! So good! Dom loved it!! Thanks for sharing, Karen! 🙂
This pie is such a stunner. Sounds great!
Thank you, Katrina!! It’s so yummy!