A Colorful, Textural Cranberry Pie for the Holidays
Nick Malgieri brings us a fabulous counterpoint to apple and pumpkin pies for your Thanksgiving table. This pie, along with his basic Croissant Dough and Pains au Chocolat are from his new book, Nick Malgieri’s Pastry. Nick is a fabulous teacher (I sent my father to him for classes!) and all of his recipes lead you clearly to successful execution – and you get his wit thrown in for good measure. Be sure to read our interview with Nick as well.
Excerpted with permission from Nick Malgieri’s Pastry: Foolproof Recipes for the Home Cook
Warning: this pie has a tart and tangy filling that might not be sweet enough for some
people. That said, I love the tangy quality of this filling and wouldn’t want it to be any other way. By the way, since the filling is cooked before the pie is baked, you can taste it and add a little more sugar if you want. My late friend Joseph Viggiani shared this recipe years ago; I have no idea where he might have found it.
- One 9-inch piecrust (such as our Pie Crust;
- 6 cups fresh cranberries, about 1½ pounds, rinsed, picked over, and drained
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup turbinado or light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
- Finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- ½ cup fresh orange juice, strained before measuring
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 or 6 pieces
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup/4 ounces coarsely chopped pecan pieces, divided use (walnuts may be substituted)
- Combine the cranberries with the rest of the ingredients except the pecans in a large
- nonreactive saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring often, and cook at an active simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Don’t overcook, or the filling will be hard after the pie is baked. Let cool.
- Set a rack at the lowest level in the oven and preheat to 375°F.
- Stir half of the pecans into the filling and pour it into the prepared piecrust. Smooth the surface and scatter the remaining pecans on top.
- Place the pan in the oven and decrease the temperature to 350°F. Bake until the crust is baked through and the pecans are toasted, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool the pie on a rack and serve it at room temperature.
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