Peach Cobbler [Pie] with Nutmeg Sauce (Edna Lewis) by Barbara

It overflowed but it still tasted great.

Southern cooking legend, Edna Lewis(1916-2006), is one the first people I consult for what to do with fresh ingredients.  She and James Beard are my go-to's for how to make simple, tasty American food. 

Her “In Pursuit of Flavor” cookbook is a classic.   That's where I found this recipe.  It really isn't what I would call a cobbler as she does. It’s what I would call a lattice pie.  

Well, I made a big tasty mess.  My peaches from Benton Valley Farms in Penn Yan were SO big and SO juicy, that I misjudged how many to use and did not use a deep enough pie plate to contain the juices.  The oven started to smoke but I kept going until the pastry was fully baked.  The next day it was a real chore to clean the burnt sugary drippings off the bottom of the oven.

Nonetheless I am glad I tried her recipe, and I will try again.  

I didn't make the nutmeg sauce because my pie’s peach juices were so sweet and delicious.  But I will in the future so I included it with her full recipe.  My additions are in [ ].

---Barbara

Peach Cobbler [Pie] with Nutmeg Sauce

(from Edna Lewis's In Pursuit of Flavor Cookbook, pages, 250-252)

Makes one 8-inch deep dish pie and 1.5 cups nutmeg sauce

Serves 4 to 6  

For the cobbler [pie] filling:

one Butter Pie Pastry (see below)

1 cup sugar

7 large peaches

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter [1/2 c.]

For the nutmeg sauce:

2/3 cup sugar

pinch salt

2 t. cornstarch

1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup boiling water

2-inch piece dried orange peel [2 drops orange extract]

3 T. brandy

Roll out half of the pie dough and press into an 8-inch pie dish that is 2 inches deep.  Sprinkle with 2 T. sugar and refrigerate.

Roll out the rest of the pie dough and cut into 8 strips for the lattice top.

Lay the strips between wax paper and refrigerate.  The dough will keep in the refrigerator for several hours.

About 1.5 hours before making the cobbler [pie], take the dough and the strips out of the refrigerator. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Peel and slice the peaches.  Sprinkle half the remaining sugar over the pie crust and lay the slice peaches in the pie plate.  Mound the last few slices in the center.  Sprinkle the rest of the sugar over the fruit and dot with thin slices of butter.

Weave the pastry strips over the fruit, four going one way and four the other.  Moisten the rim of the pie with cold water and press the strips down to seal.

Set the cobbler [pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, and place] on the middle rack of the oven for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 425 degrees, and bake for another 35 minutes.  

Let the cobbler [pie] cool for about 30 minutes before serving with nutmeg sauce.  

To make the nutmeg sauce:

Mix the sugar, salt, cornstarch and nutmeg together in a small saucepan.  

Pour the boiling water into the pan and stir.

Add the orange peel* and gently boil over medium heat for 12 minutes.  If you cook it much longer, the flavor will not be good, she says.  

[*If using orange extract, wait and add the 2 drops later when you add the brandy.]

Take the saucepan from the burner and stir in the brandy [and orange extract, if using].  

Cover and set aside until using.

When you are ready to serve the sauce, reheat over low heat.  Do not let it come to a boil.  And remember to remove the orange peel before serving.  

Butter Pie Pastry

(Edna Lewis's recipe)

Makes double crust for a 9 inch pie

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

scant teaspoon salt

12 T. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, firmly chilled or frozen, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water

Put the flour, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl.  Blend well with a pastry blender or the tips of your fingers, until the mixture is the texture of cornmeal.

Add the ice water, mix quickly, and shape the dough into a ball.  

Dust the dough lightly with flour and shape into a flat cake.

Wrap in wax paper or plastic and put in the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.

[Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 2 pieces.  Roll the larger piece out for the bottom crust, large enough to fit a deep dish 8-inch pie pan.  Press into the pan, and trim the edges.  Refrigerate. 

Roll out the second into 8 inch square and cut into 8 strips.   Lay them between two sheets of wax paper on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. ]

B