Gooseberry Pie Food

GOOSEBERRY PIE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place a baking sheet on a lower oven rack.
• Stem and rinse berries.
• Crush 1/2 cup berries in the bottom of a saucepan. Combine sugar, tapioca, and salt; mix with crushed berries. Cook and stir until mixture boils. Cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat, and add in remaining whole berries.
• Pour fruit filling into pastry. Adjust top crust; cut slits to allow steam to escape. Brush top crust with milk and sugar.
• Bake in preheated oven on baking sheet until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 35 minutes.

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• To make the pastry, mix the butter and icing sugar together in a bowl, then tip in 4 egg yolks. Add the flour and mix it all together with your fingers until you get a crumbly texture like damp breadcrumbs. Work in 1-2 tbsp water until the pastry just comes together, then divide it in half and roll it into 2 balls. This will make double the amount you need, so freeze half for another time. Lay the ball you are using on a floured surface, flatten it out with your hands, wrap the dough in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.
• For the filling, tip the fruit, sugar and Port, if using, or a splash of water into a saucepan and simmer everything for about 10 mins until the fruit is soft. Taste for sweetness, adding more sugar if you think it needs it. Pour the fruit into a pie dish about 25cm wide and 5cm deep.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface so it's big enough to make a lid for your pie dish. Cut a thin strip of pastry to stick onto the lip of the pie dish - this doesn't have to be one continuous piece. Stick it on with a little water, then moisten the strip with more water and place the pastry lid on top. Press down firmly, trim off any excess pastry and crimp. Make a hole in the middle of the lid, brush the top with the remaining egg yolk and sprinkle over some caster sugar. You should have enough pastry trimmings left over to make some artistic leaves to decorate your pie, if you like. Bake for 30 mins or until the top is golden brown. Leave the pie to relax a little, then serve it with custard or vanilla ice cream.

GOOSEBERRY CRUMBLE

Steps:

• Grease a 9 to 10-inch round baking dish (or similarly sized baking dish) with baking spray or grease with butter and set aside.
• To a bowl, add gooseberries, sugar, zest, juice and cornstarch, stirring to combine until there are no streaks or big clumps of cornstarch remaining. Pour into prepared baking dish. Set aside.Note: One of the great things about crumbles, is the berry syrup at the bottom of the dish after it has baked. It's delicious spooned over the crumble and ice cream. If, however, you want things more set/less juice, you can add a little more cornstarch, about another 1/2 tablespoon or so.
• To make crumble, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
• Add cold butter to the crumble. Use a pastry cutter (or two knives) to cut butter into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbles and some buttery clumps. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sprinkle crumble topping over the gooseberry filling. Place the dish on a baking tray to catch any spills that may happen (makes for easier cleanup). Bake for 50 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown and crispy.
• Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes or so before serving. This allows the crumble to set up and cool down.
• Serve as is or with ice cream. Drizzle the gooseberry juices/syrup over top for an extra punch of flavour!

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Prepare pie pastry. Roll out half of the pastry to a 12-inch circle. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine berries, and 1 tablespoon water. Cook over medium-low heat until the berries "pop," stirring occasionally.
• Combine the 1-1/2 cups sugar, the flour, and nutmeg; add to the gooseberries in the saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture just begins to bubble.
• Spread mixture in the pastry-lined pie plate. Roll out remaining pastry. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Place remaining pastry on filling; trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold top pastry under bottom pastry. Crimp edge as desired. Brush top crust with cream or milk; sprinkle with a little sugar. Cover the edge of the pie with foil.
• Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake about 20 minutes more or until top is golden. Cool. Makes 8 servings.

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• On a piece of parchment generously dusted with flour, roll out one disk of dough to a 12-inch round. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour; fit dough into a 9-inch glass pie plate, pressing it into the edges. Trim dough to a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Roll out remaining disk of dough in the same manner; transfer (on parchment) to a baking sheet. Chill pie shell and dough until firm, about 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, toss together the gooseberries, granulated sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, lemon juice, and salt. Spoon into pie shell, mounding slightly in the center. Dot with butter. Lightly brush rim of pie shell with water. Center the remaining rolled dough on top of the fruit; gently press over the berries. Gently press the top and bottom pieces of dough together to seal. Using kitchen scissors, trim top piece of dough to a 1-inch overhang all around. Tuck dough under, and crimp edge as desired.
• Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, make cuts in the top crust to allow steam to escape (do not remove rounds of dough). In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and cream; brush egg wash over entire surface of pie, being careful not to let it pool. Sprinkle pie generously with sanding sugar. Freeze or refrigerate pie until firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F, with the rack in the lower third.
• Place pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the crust begins to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through, until crust is deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling and have thickened, 40 to 50 minutes more. Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely. The pie is best eaten the same day it is baked, but it can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
• Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add the butter and shortening, and process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl; use a pastry blender to cut in the butter and shortening.)
• With the machine running, pour ice water through the feed tube in a steady stream until the dough just holds together without being too wet or sticky; do not process more than 30 seconds. Test the dough by squeezing a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add a bit more water.
• Turn out the dough onto a work surface. Divide in half. Place each half on a sheet of plastic wrap; flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Dough can be frozen, wrapped in plastic, up to 3 weeks; thaw in refrigerator.

GOOSEBERRY PIE

Steps:

• Prepare pastry.
• Stem and rinse berries.
• Crush 1/2 cup berries add sugar, tapioca, and salt and mix.
• Cook and stir until mixture boils then cook 2 minutes longer.
• Remove from heat, add remaining whole berries.
• Pour into pastry.
• Adjust top crust, cut slits for escape of steam.
• Brush with milk and sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.