Sweet & Savory Kitchens

Aunt Suzy says

I love it when things come together for an unexpected treat!   This week’s convergence of forces was triggered by seeing this recipe on Smitten Kitchen.  I wistfully sent it to my brother in Central Illinois because I know about this time of year Margaux’s Aunt Gigi invites them out to pick cherries at “The Big House”.  Wistfully, because I was confident that I would not find fresh sour cherries here in Minnesota.  They are a favorite of mine from childhood – my Mom made great cherry pies – and I have never seen them available here.  But, wait!  Unexpected force #2 was, to my amazement, Prairie Hollow Farm at the Mill City Farmers Market  had fresh sour cherries this weekend.  I snapped them up so I could make this pie, which I did for a get-together with friends Sue and Al.  The pie was a hit!  I will make it again later this week when I visit family where I’ll use those cherries my brother picked.

A note on the quantities and ingredients:   I ended up with a little under 4 cups of cherries once I had pitted them and removed those that were past their prime.   Because of this I used an 8 1/2-inch pie plate.  If you are lucky enough to have more cherries, you can use a 9 or 9 1/2-inch pie plate.  The first quantity in the recipe is for the smaller plate, the second is for the larger.  For the almonds, I recommend that if you have a food processor that you use it instead of chopping the almonds.  This will release their oils, which will give a more pronounced almond flavor which is such a delicious match for cherries.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a pie plate with your favorite single-crust pie dough.  Here’s ours.  Place in the refrigerator until ready for use.

Prepare the crumble:

1/2 cup-2/3 cup whole oats, coarsely ground in a food processor

1/3 cup- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup-1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup-3/4 cup unsalted whole almonds, coarsely ground in a food processor or chopped by hand

5 – 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Grind the oats in a food processor or blender until they resemble a coarse flour.  Place in a bowl and add the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt and whisk together to blend.  Grind the almonds in a food processor or chop by hand, then add to the bowl.  Stir in the melted butter.  Set aside.

Prepare the cherry filling:

2/3 cup-3/4 cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups-5 cups pitted fresh sour cherries( or you can use frozen, partially thawed) 

Mix the above ingredients together.

Assemble and bake the pie:

Pour the cherries into the prepared, dough-lined pie plate.  Sprinkle the crumble over the cherries.  Place the pie plate onto the center rack in the pre-heated oven.  Line the oven bottom with foil or place a cookie sheet on the rack below the pie.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes more.  The pie is done when the cherry filling bubbles and the crumble is a little crisp.  Remove from the oven, place on a rack and cool to room temperature before serving.  We all agreed that this pie is best unadorned – no ice cream or whipped cream, although use your own judgment.

 My favorite time to eat pie – breakfast! 

 Or Breakfast of Champions as my sister-in-law, Cindy, likes to say.  Oops!  Tatum beat me to the punch . . . gotta go!