Recipe: No-Bake Fresh Fruit Pie

NO-BAKE FRESH FRUIT PIE
Source: The Perfect Pie by Susan Purdy
Broadway Books

The recipe for this delicious and speedy summer pie ws given to me by a food-writing colleague, Dede Ely-Singer. The filling requires no baking, is quick to prepare, and can be varied to suit whatever combination of berries and fruits is in season. The technique is simple: some of the fruit is first mashed and cooked into a thickened sauce. Then the remaining fresh fruit is stirred in and the entire mixture turned out into a completely prebaked pastry shell and chilled. The filling can also be served as a pudding without any pastry.
Advance preparation: The pastry can be prebaked a day in advance. The filling should be made early in the day, and the pie filled and set to chill at least 3 hours before serving.

Special equipment: 9-inch pie plate; food processor or bowl and fork; 2 1/2-quart non-reactive saucepan

Filling:

4 cups any combination of fresh berries, picked over, washed, hulled, if necessary, and drained until dry, and/or cut-up peeled fresh fruit, divided (1 1/2 cups and 2 1/2 cups), (Note: try blueberries and peaches, or raspberries and nectarines, or blueberries and strawberries, or plums and peaches with Marionberries or huckleberries; do not peel plums, nectarines or pears)
2/3 to 1 cup granulated sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Prepare the pastry, roll it out, and line the pie plate. Prick the pastry bottom with a fork and chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Completely blind-bake the shell.

In a food processor or using a fork, mash 1 1/2 cups of the cut-up mixed fruit or berries. Measure the sugar, cornstarch, and water into a saucepan and whisk until smooth. Stir in the mashed fruit and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and clear. Stir in the lemon juice.

Taste the cooked sauce and correct the balance of sugar and lemon if necessary. Stir in the butter and all the remaining cut-up fresh fruit and berries. Firm fruits like apples or plums are best slightly mashed into the cooked sauce, while softer fresh fruits and berries should simply be stirred in. Chill until partially thickened, then spoon into the cooked pastry shell and chill for at least 3 hours to set. Serve with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: One 9-inch pie; serves 6 to 8