Apple-Pumpkin Pie from Blue Chair Cooks with Jam & Marmalade

Rachel Saunders is a jam maven. In her second book, Blue Chairs Cooks with Jam & Marmalade, she is not making jams but employing them in savory and sweet dishes.

Sweet like this one. This dish is one of those “why didn’t I ever think of that” masterpieces. For Thanksgiving we all have our pumpkin pie and probably apple, too. We have to have them. Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie would be a bummer for the next 365 days until we recover. But here, for this Thanksgiving, we can have them both, in one pie. It’s gorgeous to look at and surely a complex taste sensation. Suzi and I have this own our own Thanksgiving agenda this year.

Here is Rachel’s own description of this pie:

This standout pie captures all the warmth, spice, and earthiness of Thanksgiving. To make it, the pumpkin is sliced, not pureed, which gives the pie an unexpected sophistication. Tomato jam adds a touch of acidity, while golden raisins provide sweetness and texture. This gorgeously playful mix of flavors and ingredients, encased in an exquisitely flaky crust, makes this pie a Thanksgiving highlight.

What more is there to say? Search out apples and a pumpkin. Prepare, for the pie cometh!

Apple-Pumpkin Pie

Yield: serves 8

Ingredients:

For the crust:

2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons high-quality lard
15 tablespoons unsalted butter, preferably European-style
9 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, preferably European-style, plus more for buttering

1 pound 2 ounces peeled pumpkin, sliced 1⁄8 inch thick

1 pound peeled and cored firm sweet apples, sliced ¼ inch thick

6 tablespoons Early Girl Tomato Jam (page 290)

1½ teaspoons apple balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

⅔ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground cloves

¼ teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1⁄16 teaspoon freshly ground mace

2 tablespoons and 1½ teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour

⅓cup golden raisins

1 large egg white, beaten until frothy

Preparation:

To make the crust, place the flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the lard and butter into ½-inch cubes and sprinkle them over the flour. Place the bowl in the freezer to chill until very cold but not frozen, about 20 minutes.

Transfer the flour-butter mixture to the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a metal blade, keeping the frozen bowl close by. Pulse the mixture several times, until the largest pieces of fat are pea-size. Immediately transfer the flour mixture back to the frozen bowl. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture and stir immediately and quickly with a wide sturdy butter knife held at a vertical angle until the mixture comes together, adding a little more ice water if needed.

Transfer the dough mixture to a lightly floured board and gather the dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than the other. Do not handle the dough too much, as you do not want it to warm up. Flatten the dough balls into 5-inch discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours or as long as 48 hours. The dough can also be frozen for future use.

To make the filling, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. Melt the ¼ cup butter in a 12-inch sauté pan over low heat and sauté the pumpkin until slightly cooked but still firm, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and sauté for 5 minutes, then cover and braise for another 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Transfer the pumpkin and apples with their juices to a large bowl to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the tomato jam, vinegar, sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, mace, and flour. Distribute this mixture evenly over the cooked fruit in the bowl. Add the raisins and toss gently to combine. Set the filling aside.

To assemble the pie, very lightly butter a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate. Place the larger of the 2 chilled pastry discs on a lightly floured board. Beat the dough briefly with a rolling pin to soften it if needed and roll it out into an even 12-inch circle, turning it often and flouring your board and rolling pin lightly as needed. Carefully fit the dough into the prepared pan. Using sharp clean scissors, trim the overhang so the dough extends ⅛ inch beyond the edge of the pie plate. Brush the entire inside of the pie shell with the beaten egg white.

Roll the remaining disc of dough into a 10½-inch circle. Pile the filling mixture into the waiting pie shell, pressing down on the fruit to create as even a distribution as possible. Center the top crust over the filling, then fold the edges of the top crust under the edges of the bottom crust, trimming any excess as needed. Crimp the edge of the pie with your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp paring knife, cut several slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the entire top crust with the egg white.

Bake the pie for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 375° F and continue baking until the fruit is very tender and bubbling, about another 30 minutes. Place the pie on a rack to cool to lukewarm before serving.