Rustic Peach Pie

I like my homemade Thanksgiving pies to have perfect top and bottom crusts with perfectly crimped edges.  Yet, my summer fruit pies tend to be rustic and free-form and anything but fussy.  No doubt my pies reflect my feelings and summer is way too fun and relaxed to worry about perfect edges on a pie!  The choice of fruit also changes with the season.  Although apple pie is my favorite and mandatory on my holiday table, I keep those flavors for autumn.  Summer is about sweet peaches or plump berries and I let the choice of filling be dictated by whatever is ripe and fresh at the farm stands.

Of course summer is also about light desserts or plain fruit and I stick to that during the week.  But on weekends when we're grilling and relaxing in the garden with friends and family, I like to serve a fresh fruit pie with a scoop of ice cream on top.  I'd also just as soon skip the potato salad and macaroni salad and all the other mayonnaise laden salads.  Give me a well grilled steak or burger, some simple veggies and a hunk of pie for dessert.  Enjoy!




Ingredients

For the Crust:
2 Sticks unsalted butter cut into 1" pieces
2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour plus extra for rolling out the dough
1/4 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Scant teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup ice water

Combine the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor.  Pulse until the mixture resembles course crumbs.  Slowly pour in the ice water while pulsing just until a dough ball forms.  Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

For the Filling:
6 Ripe peaches, peeled and sliced
1 Teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 - 1/2 Cup sugar (see below)
Pinch of salt

To peel the peaches, bring a large pot of water to a boil and submerge the peaches fully for one minute.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place them in ice water to cool.  The peel should come off easy with your fingers.  Remove the pits and slice.

In a bowl, combine the sliced peaches along with the lemon juice, salt, flour and 1/4 cup of sugar.  Because peaches can vary greatly in sweetness, you should taste them at this point and decide if you want to add part or all of the additional sugar.

Roll out the dough  approximately 3" larger than your pie pan and drape the dough into the pan.  Pour in the peach filling and fold the edges of the dough into the pie.  Place the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch drips and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.  Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.  Makes approximately 8 servings.