RECIPE - A Cherry to Dye For | The Savers of Flavor

Find a recipe from The Savers of Flavor episode, A Cherry to Dye For, below.

Cebah's Cherry Pie Recipe

Makes 1 Pie

Ingredients 

Cebah's Cherry Pie Crust

• 3 cups of All-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons lard
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• Ice water

Cebah's Dyehouse Cherry Pie Filling

• 5 cups Dyehouse (sour) Cherries
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1/3 cup Cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Lemon zest
• Pinch of sea or Kosher salt
• * Cinnamon optional

Cebah's Pie Topping

• Milk or heavy cream
• Maple syrup
• Raw sugar

Instructions

For the Pastry

1. Put 3 cups of all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl with a half teaspoon of salt. Into this, add 6 tablespoons each of lard and butter.
2. Work these in with your fingers until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal.
3. Add just enough ice water to form a rough dough, divide it into two disc-shaped parts, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

For the Filling

1. Put 4 to 5 cups of pitted pie cherries into a bowl.
2. Mix in 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of cornstarch, and a pinch of salt. If you wish, you may add a teaspoon of vanilla and a grating of lemon rind, or a few drops of almond extract.

Assembling Pie

1. Roll out one of the discs until it is large enough to cover a 9-inch pie dish, press it into the dish carefully, and trim the excess with a knife. Pour in your prepared filling.
2. Roll out the second disc to the same size, then cut it into 1/2-inch-wide strips. Take up the first short strip of dough and place it carefully across the top of the filling, 1/2 inch from the edge of the pie. Continue with every other strip, leaving a 1/3/ inch space between each. When this is done, you will have crossed the entire pie. Now lift every other strip of dough and carefully lay it back towards you on the counter, keeping the strips straight and in order.
3. Lay the shortest remaining strip of dough across the alternating strips at a right angle to them. This is done: take each strip you have folded toward you, back over the filling again, carefully, so as not to break them or get them out of line. Your new strip of dough, crossing the pie, will alternate between over and under the first row of strips. 
4. Now fold back the alternating strips that are under the piece you just added, and place the next strip 1/2 inch from the first.
5. Carefully return the folded back strips into place, and your lattice has begun! Continue across the pie, leaving a 1/2-inch gap between each strip, until you reach the far side of the pie. There, you've done it, and it isn't as hard as it sounds. Press the strips lightly along the rim with your fingers, then trim off the overhanging ends.
6. With a pastry brush, brush the strips with a mixture of two tablespoons each of cream and maple syrup. or brown sugar. Sprinkle the strips with sugar - plain or raw and bake them for 45 -50 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Watch it carefully towards the end of baking as ovens differ and you may need to take it out a few minutes sooner, or leave it in a bit longer. The crust should be golden brown, and the filling should bubble up between the lattices. - Dan Dutton