Concord Grape Pie

Fall. LSU football Saturdays with Rémy on the couch, duck gumbo. The season of gumbo weather and hunting mornings and the slow darkening of the days that matches the slow darkening of the roux, and both are beautiful, and both are necessary, and the dark is where the flavor lives.

The dinner table conversations are getting deeper as the kids get older. Colette talks about art and meaning and the responsibility of the artist to preserve what\'s disappearing. Rémy talks about food philosophy and sustainability and the relationship between the hunter and the hunted. These are my children, cher. These are the people the roux built. They think in layers. They see in seasons. They understand that the food on the table is not just fuel but language, and the language is Cajun, and the Cajun is alive.

After a Saturday like that one — Rémy on the couch, the roux going slow, Colette talking about what it means to preserve something before it’s gone — I wanted a dessert that carried the same weight as the conversation. Concord grape pie is that dessert. The color of it, that bruised, almost-black purple, it looks like the last hour of a fall afternoon, and it tastes like something that took its time. That’s the right ending to a meal these kids helped build, cher. Something with depth you have to work for.

Prep Time: 35 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 25 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

4 cups fresh Concord grapes, stemmed and rinsed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 double-crust 9-inch pie pastry, homemade or store-bought
1 large egg, beaten (for egg wash)
1 tablespoon coarse raw sugar (for topping)

Instructions

Separate the grapes. Working one grape at a time, pinch each grape to slip the skin free from the pulp. Place skins in a medium bowl and pulp in a small saucepan. Set both aside.
Cook the pulp. Bring the grape pulp to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Press through a fine-mesh strainer into the bowl of skins to remove all seeds. Discard the seeds.
Make the filling. Whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl, then stir into the grape mixture along with the lemon juice. Let the filling rest for 10 minutes so the cornstarch begins to hydrate.
Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out the bottom crust and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Refrigerate while you roll out the top crust.
Fill the pie. Pour the grape filling into the chilled bottom crust. Dot the surface evenly with the butter pieces. Lay the top crust over the filling and fold the edges of both crusts under together, crimping firmly to seal.
Finish and vent. Brush the top crust all over with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Cut 4 to 5 slits in the center of the top crust with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.
Bake. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 28 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents. If the edges brown too quickly, shield them with foil.
Cool completely. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 2 hours before slicing. The filling needs time to set—don’t rush it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Concord Grape Pie — The Dark Is Where the Flavor Lives