This pie rivals peach pie for flavor and texture. The double-crust pie is piled high with lush tart nectarines interspersed with raspberries. The flesh of a nectarine is slightly firmer than that of a peach, producing a pie with an excellent texture.
Ingredients
Serves 8
Make the dough:
Step 1
Remove the dough for the bottom crust from the refrigerator. If necessary, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll.
Step 2
On a floured pastry cloth or between two sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap, roll the bottom crust 1/8 inch thick or less and large enough to cut a 12-inch circle. Transfer it to the pie pan. Trim the edge almost even with the edge of the pan. Cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 3 hours.
Make the filling:
Step 3
Place the sliced nectarines in a large bowl and sprinkle them with the lemon juice. Sprinkle on the sugar and salt and toss them gently to mix evenly. Allow to macerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and maximum of 1 hour.
Step 4
Transfer the nectarines and their juices to a colander suspended over a bowl to capture the liquid. The mixture will exude a full cup of juice.
Step 5
In a small saucepan (preferably lined with a nonstick surface), over medium-high heat, boil down this liquid to 1/2 cup, or until syrupy and lightly carmelized. Swirl the liquid but do not stir it. (Alternatively, spray a 4 cup heatproof measure with nonstick vegetable spray, add the liquid, and boil it in a microwave, about 12 minutes on high). Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes or until warm.
Step 6
Meanwhile, transfer the nectarines to a bowl and toss them with the lemon zest and cornstarch until all traces of the cornstarch have disappeared. Stir the Kirsch into the cooled syrup and pour it over the nectarines, tossing gently. Transfer the nectarine mixture to the pie shell and top with the raspberries.
Step 7
Roll out the top crust large enough to cut a 12-inch circle. Use an expandable flan ring or a cardboard template and a sharp knife as a guide to cut out the circle.
Step 8
Moisten the edges of the bottom crust with water and place the top crust over the fruit. Tuck the overhang under the bottom crust border and press down all around the top to seal it. Crimp the border using a fork or your fingers and make about 5 evenly spaced 2-inch slashes starting about 1 inch from the center and radiating toward the edge. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour before baking to chill and relax the pastry. This will maintain flakiness and help to prevent distortion.
Step 9
Preheat oven to 425°F at least 20 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating. Place a large piece of greased foil on top to catch bubbling juices.
Step 10
Set the pie directly on the foil-topped baking stone and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices bubble thickly through the slashes and the nectarines feel tender but not mushy when a cake tester or small knife is inserted through a slash. After 30 minutes, protect the edges from overbrowning with a foil ring. cool the pie on a rack for at least 3 hours before cutting.
Store:
Step 11
Room temperature, up to 2 days.
Pointers for success:
Step 12
— The nectarines should be ripe but firm so they maintain their texture in a pie. If squishy, they lose their character.
Step 13
— As you slice the nectarines, toss them occasionally with the sugar mixture to coat to prevent them from turning brown.
Step 14
— The liquid must not be hot when added to the nectarines because it could cause the cornstarch to lump.
Step 15
— Be sure to put a sheet of foil under the pie pan, as there is always a little spillover with this much fruit.
Step 16
— For a truly crisp bottom crust, bake the pie directly on the floor of the oven for the first 30 minutes.
Leave a Review
Reviews (13)
Back to TopUsed combo peaches/apricots since I couldn't find nectarines. Crust was beautiful and turned out great--thought it wasn't going to come together, but it finally did. Used by-hand method. Brushed top with egg wash and sugar. A little tart, ice cream definitely helped.
Anonymous
overland park, ks
5/15/2012
My final product was 2 forks but I think it was my fault: my nectarines were falling-apart mushy ripe, and I didn't have kirsch (honestly I don't even know what it is-liqueur?). I didn't get much liquid after maceration, and the pie is a bit dry and bland, but certainly edible. I would like to try again with better ingredients.
nomdeplume
Fayetteville, NC
8/16/2010
I really enjoyed this pie - I was fortunate to find lovely peaches in december, so I made this recipe with them (I blanched them to remove the skins), and left out the kirsch - the pie was delightful, if not spectacular, though that may be due to my alterations. The recipe is definetly going into my summer pie rotation.
Anonymous
12/30/2008
excellent recipe! i didn't have the kirch, but it still turned out yummy. was a painstaking process, but worth it. i added just a touch more sugar--perhaps a tablespoon (max), and found the filling to be perfect as the nectarines were very tart.
Anonymous
lake forest, ca
7/16/2008
An earlier poster mentioned that the addition of extra raspberries made the pie a little tart. I served this pie without additional accompaniments but with the correct proportion of nectarines to raspberries and still found it a tad tart. Some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would have helped significantly. My current guess on the problem was that I could not get the nectarines to produce 1 cup of juices even with the full wait. They produced about half a cup. I'd like to try this again and see if that will change. The texture was great.
Anonymous
3/3/2008
Delicious pie! Have a nectarine tree, so I've already made this pie three times. The nectarines and raspberries went really well together. As mentioned by other reviewers, 6 nectarines is not enough -- I used closer to 20 but mine were small. Let the pie sit at least 1 hour before serving to avoid liquid.
Anonymous
San Diego, CA
8/8/2007
This was a nice pie variation and the flavours are really beautiful together. I found it extremely juicy which is not a bad thing, but should have probably allowed time to set more before serving. The sweetness is just perfect.
tanislm
edmonton
8/14/2006
This was a huge hit at 4th of July and a great way to enjoy fresh summer nectarines. I agree a few more nectarines than you think are needed, but what I had ended up being enough. Great flavor and not too difficult. It was my first attempt at a crust using that recipe and that turned out great as well. Highly recommended!
Anonymous
Dublin, CA
8/6/2006
This was amazing. The texture is wonderful, not soupy at all.I used a regular all butter crust so can't judge the crust, but the filling has a great complex flavor. 8 cups of nectarines is more than 6 average sized nectarines, so have extras on hand, I'd say about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs of fruit.
Anonymous
Arlington, VA
7/17/2006
This is the first pie I've ever made and it did not disappoint. The crust was perfect and I'll definitely use it in all future pie recipes. I did not, however, have enough nectarines (6 medium were not enough) so I substituted more raspberries, which were too bitter for my taste. But with a little fresh whipped cream on the side to temper the acidity, this pie was killer and everyone loved it. Will make again, with more nectarines
LimeGirl
9/6/2004
This is the best pie I have ever made or eaten!
DeWitt, IA
7/1/2004
A perfect summer treat, but wonderful at any ocassion.
Emily
Knoxville, TN
10/17/2003
This pie was awesome. I brought it to a birthday party and everyone passed on the b-day cake and had this instead. It was pretty liduid--it was great with ice cream, but I might try to cut back on the liquid next time I make it--and I willmake it again!
Anonymous
Central Coast of California
9/13/2003
