Marie Antoinette supposedly said, “Let them eat cake.” Well, to be quite honest with you, I would rather have pie.  I love fruit desserts, and besides fruit crisp, I cannot think of any fruit dessert easier to make.  Flour, sugar, butter, a touch of salt, and you have a basic pie dough.  Fill it with fruit, tossed with a little sugar and flour, then bake it, and there is your pie.  It is that easy.

While working on Arthur Schwartz’s most-recent cookbook, The Southern Italian Table: Authentic Tastes from Traditional Kitchens, I must have tested 12 different variations of four published pie recipes.  The best recipe (based on taste and ease) was Nick Malgieri’s basic crostata dough.  A crostata is a rustic, free-form pie, also known in France as a galette.  We ended up using Nick’s recipe in Arthur’s book -- it is that good. 

I guarantee that making this recipe will leave the novice pie-maker feeling like they are a master baker and their adoring recipients will be none the wiser.  

By Chef William Crutchley

Wil Crutchley is a New York City-based chef hailing from the coast of North Eastern North Carolina.  He is known for creating flavorful, cohesive cuisine with an emphasis on innovation and clean flavors.  His masterful technique incorporates international ingredients into his style while highlighting the intrinsic integrity of the ingredients in his dishes.  Wil's food is natural in approach, possessing touches of whimsy and finishing off with universal appeal.  Visit him on the web at: www.wilcrutchley.com

More Featured Articles