Nectarine – Foodologie

Pies vs Tarts?

What’s the difference? Great question. There’s probably an official answer but honestly to me they’re the same thing. The only difference is the type of pan you make it in. But honestly, you can make any tart recipe into a pie and any pie recipe in to a tart. So whether you want to call this a pie or a tart, I’m ok with either.

I took this to a potluck and I think I called it a pie. But now that I think about it, I made it in a tart pan so it should be called a tart. A tart sounds fancy, doesn’t it?

Pie sounds homey. Tart sounds regal. I’m ok with fancy business, but let’s be honest, I’m not a fan of expensive. My tart pan was $2.50 at the Good Will. I wanted to keep this dessert low budget too. I went to the store and looked for the cheapest fruit available. That’s my strategy because generally the cheapest fruit is in season.

Nectarines were $0.50/lb. So awesome. It took about $1.50 worth of fruit to make this tart. Beautiful and frugal. I’m into it.

Nectarine Tart with Pistachio Oat Crumble

For Crust:

175g All Purpose Flour (about 1 1/4 cup)
1 tbsp Sugar
pinch of Salt
1 stick of Butter, cold
2 tbsp (maybe more) Ice Water

For Filling:

8 Nectarines, diced
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Flour
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
2 tbsp Rum (Optional)

For Topping:

1/2 cup Flour
1/3 cup Oats
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 tbsp White Sugar
1/4 Pistachios, chopped
pinch of Salt
4 tbsp Butter (plus extra for placing on top)
1 tbsp Rum (optional)

Prepare pie crust by combing flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingers, break the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse crumbs (even pea sized is fine). Add ice water and bring it all together into a ball using your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate a few hours. You can make this up to two days in advance (or much longer and freeze it).

Once the dough has rested enough (a few hours or days), roll out and place into a 9 inch fluted tart pan (this will also work in a pie dish). Place in freezer while you make the filling and topping.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

Dice nectarines (leave the skin on) and combine with sugar, flour, cinnamon and rum. Set aside and make the topping. In a bowl, combine ingredients for filling. Using your fingers, work ingredients together (feel free to add more pistachios if you’d like) until the texture of coarse crumbs.

Now assemble tart. Place nectarine filling into prepared tart pan. Top with crumble topping. Lay a few thin pats of butter over the top. Bake for about an hour and a half, or until filling is bubbling and top is golden.

Allow to cool completely. Serve and enjoy!

This was a big hit. I was a fan. I loved the crumble topping with pistachios in it, and let’s be honest… nectarines > peaches, but we never see nectarines in a pie/tart. I’m not sure why, but I’m glad I changed that. Also, everyone should leave the skin on the fruit. Just saying…

For some reason I’m thinking plum pie needs to happen sometime soon, because I never see plums in a pie.

What’s your favorite fruit pie? If you have an awesome recipe, share it in the comments!

Ithaca made me a jar person.

At the risk of sounding totally hippie/granola, I will say I find jars to be very multifunctional. Not only can you carry soups, beverages and meals in them, you can also make a pie in one…

Versatile. I like it. I also like blueberries and nectarines. Let’s find a way to combine them all.

Doesn’t that look like summer? I thought so.

Summer Blueberry-Nectarine Pie in a Jar

5 half pint mason jars
1 recipe for pate brisee (this is the crust, you can also use store bought)
2 nectarine, diced (optional to peel)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

A quick note before starting: make your crust/pate brisee a few hours, or the night before, to prevent the dreaded shrinking crust. The longer it rests, the better!

Roll your crust on a well floured surface. I suggest rolling it thinner than you would roll your average pie crust, if not your crust to filling ratio will be quite high, but keep it thick if that’s you’re style. After rolling, line jars with pie crust. This was a little tricky for me. I bought the jars that were kinda narrow so I couldn’t fit my hand in it, so I suggest using the wider mouthed jars. I had to piece to together and use a spoon to press it down. Either way it should look somewhat like this by the end:

Place them in the fridge or freezer as soon as they’re ready. You don’t want melted/soft crusts in your jar!

While your jars chill, dice (and peel, if you like) your nectarines and wash your blueberries. In a bowl, combine nectarines, blueberries, sugar, flour and vanilla. Toss to coat all the fruit in the sugar and flour. Let sit for a few minutes.

In the meantime, make your pie lids. Roll out some more pie dough then using the jar lid, cut out circles.