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11/08/1999 Archived Entry: "Harvest Pie"

I’ve been getting requests for the following recipe: Harvest Fruit Pie. I think I created it myself. Iris, my assistant, says I did, but I can’t honestly remember. I have no notes on it. I have only vague memories of it. I’m just happy I have the recipe in my computer. That being the case, I know I must have baked it at least once, and that I liked it well enough to pass it along to Food Talk listeners.

It’s made with fillo (instead of pie pastry), the thin sheets of pastry traditionally used in the Middle Eastern kitchen, and these days by stylish pastry chefs. Try to buy fresh fillo, rather than frozen. Among other things, it’s easier to work with. I hope you can still find the fresh prune plums needed for it. I saw some last week, so I suppose they’re still around this week. If you can’t find the plums, please save the recipe for next year. (Well, god willing, it’ll still be on The Food Maven web-site next year – in the Diary Archive.)

What with Thanksgiving coming up, I’ve gotten some other pie recipe requests, too – for my pumpkin custard pie (the one with a spot of cognac), for Nesselrode pie, for Coconut Custard, and for Banana Cream. Over the next four days, you’ll get them all. I’ll post one each day right here, in the Food Maven’s Diary.

Also, I’ll be putting up a great stuffing recipe and some holiday side dishes, including the three-ingredient sweet potato whip my friend Rozanne Gold talked through on Food Talk last week. I made it, and now I can’t wait to eat it again on Thanskgiving.

Harvest Fruit Pie
Serves 6

For the pastry:
12 13-inch fillo sheets
4 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:
12 prune plums, pitted and cut into eighths
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup currants
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons flour

With a pastry brush, lightly brush the bottom and sides of a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate with melted butter.

Line the pie plate with a sheet of fillo, fitting it in place on the bottom and sides of the plate, and letting the corners hang over the sides. Lightly brush the bottom and sides with melted butter. Place another sheet of fillo on top, again letting the corners hang over the sides. Do not worry if it isn’t smooth. Lightly brush the bottom and sides with melted butter. Continue layering the remaining sheets of fillo, brushing each layer with melted butter. Cover with a lightly damp dish towel while preparing the filling.

In a mixing bowl combine all the filling ingredients and toss to mix well. Pour into the pie plate fitted with fillo pastry.

Turn over the hanging points of pastry on top of the filling, brushing each corner with butter before turning the next one over it. There should be some exposed fruit in the center of the pie.

Bake in a pre-heated 375-degree oven until the top pastry is nicely browned, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and cover it with aluminum foil. Return it to the oven for another half hour. Let it cool at least slightly before serving.