EASY AS PIE
Five takes on late-summer pies
Piles of peaches, tons of tomatoes, buckets of blackberries — savor the flavors of summer … in a pie.
“I could eat fruit pie every day in the summer and not get sick of it,” said Molly Johnston of Nomadic Pies in Kennett Square, where customers enjoy combinations like peach raspberry and apple blackberry.
“This time of year is a perfect time for pie,” she declared. “You can put anything in pie, sweet or savory.”
“I’m always excited to make a pie,” agreed pastry chef Holly Haas of Frecon Farms in Boyertown.
Her “really simple” peach blackberry pie gets a crumb topping.
“I like the fact that it’s not super-sweet like some peach pies can be,” she said.
For a more rustic version, try a peach crostata.
“It’s like a pie dough, but it’s free-form,” explained chef Blake Swihart of Foodservice Solutions in Chester Springs. “It’s a good old standard. I use it all the time.”
“The important thing is make sure it’s really chilled before you roll it out,” he added. “Chill it again with the fruit in it before you bake it.”
On the savory side, chef Art Roman tweaks tradition with his cherry tomato pie, featuring capers, feta and Parmesan tucked inside a double crust.
“That’s just a great, great recipe,” described the owner of The Kitchen Workshop in Paoli.
Simply bake and serve with a “nice green salad.”
“It’s a very pretty dish when you slice it,” Roman said. “It is delicious.”