THE PERFECT PIE FOR SAD-LOOKING BERRIES

A delicious recipe that gives those squashed, unappetising stragglers a chance to shine

I’d never cook a perfect pint of raspberries. Eating them raw really is the best way to appreciate their sweet-tart charm. But those sad-looking berries squashed on the way home from the farmers market? Baking them into a pie might be their last chance to shine before the compost bucket beckons. Raspberries can find a place in practically any sweet pie, but they go especially well with succulent peaches, which have a mellowness that tames the berries’ acidity.

Berries with a similar tang, like strawberries and blackberries, will also work nicely, though you can just as easily use the plump blueberries that ended up at the bottom of your tote bag under some potatoes. Just add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to perk them up.

As for the peaches, the question of peeling inevitably arises whenever I add them to a pie. I don’t mind the peels, so I leave them on. But if fuzz gets you down, take it off with a paring knife or vegetable peeler. Or substitute smooth-skinned nectarines. In any case, use the juiciest fruit you can find. I like to buy my stone fruit a few days before making my pie, giving everything a chance to ripen.

Another thing you can do a few days in advance is make the pie dough. After baking pies out of cookbooks by Stella Parks and Erin McDowell, I’ve been skipping the food processor and using my hands, delighting in the excuse to plunge my fingers into a bowl of butter and flour. I find I get a slightly flakier result without a machine, which can over-process the butter. But feel free to use your favorite pie dough recipe, or a good brand of store-bought dough, preferably one made with butter.

A raspberry’s character can be ephemeral when baked into a pie, so I add a little raspberry jam to the filling in place of some of the sugar. The jam adds both sweetness and depth of flavour. It’s not a loud presence, but it subtly enhances what’s there.

Then I keep the other seasonings delicate: a touch of lemon zest, a sprinkle of nutmeg and a little brown sugar, just enough to round things out. Fresh summer fruit — even raspberries on their very last legs — won’t need much help.