Concord Grape Pie

Wash grapes and remove the skins. This is not so hard to do, because concord grapes have a loose skin. Just pinch from the back side and they will pop out the hole that had connected them to the stem.

Reserve the skins.

Place grape pulp in a large saucepan; mash a few at the bottom to release their juice. Cook over medium low heat until grapes come to a full boil. Boil for about 7 minutes.

Remove pulp from heat, and press through a food mill to remove the seeds. Combine pulp and skins in a large bowl.

Stir in lemon juice and tapioca. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Roll out bottom crust and place into an 8″ pie pan.

Par-bake the crust.* (I line mine with foil and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes at 400F, then remove foil and weights and continue baking until golden on the inside.)

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, flour, and salt; then stir dry ingredients into the grape mixture.

Fill prepared bottom pie shell with the filling.

Roll out the top crust. Lay it over the filling and press down gently to seal with the bottom crust.

Cut venting slits into top of the pie.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the top crust. Cool.

* I have repeatedly read that you can only par-bake if you aren’t using a top crust. I don’t believe this at all and did not have any trouble sealing the two together. Without par-baking, this recipe is likely to produce a somewhat wet and not flaky bottom crust.