Alright, so I got this idea in my head, right? Goumi pie. Heard about these berries, figured I’d give it a shot. I like to mess around with recipes, especially when it’s something a bit out of the ordinary. And let me tell ya, goumis fit that bill.
Getting Started with These Goumis
First thing’s first, I had to get my hands on the goumis. Not like you can just pop down to the local store for these. I actually have a couple of bushes in the back, more decorative than anything, until I got this pie idea. So, I went out there with a bowl. Picking them was a bit of a job. They’re small, see? And they like to hide. Took a while, but I got a decent haul. Rinsed ’em off real good. They looked pretty, all bright red.
Then, the crust. I’m not one for those super complicated, fancy-pants pastry recipes. I stick to what I know works. My usual go-to is a pretty basic one: flour, bit of salt, cold butter, ice water. Mixed it up, rolled it out – not perfectly round, mind you, but good enough for me – and plopped it into my pie dish. Didn’t bother pre-baking it this time. Figured the filling would be wet enough.
The Main Event: Tackling the Filling
Now, for the goumi filling. This is where I did a bit of thinking. These berries, they’ve got a tart kick. A real kick. And they have tiny seeds. Lots of ’em. I wasn’t about to try and pit every single one of those little things. No sir. Life’s too short for that kind of torture. So, seeds were staying.
I decided to cook the berries down a bit first. Just chucking them in raw with sugar felt like it might be too much on the tart side, and maybe a bit too, I don’t know, seedy-textured. So, I tossed about four cups of the goumis into a saucepan. Added about a cup of sugar – maybe a little more, I just eyeballed it ’til it looked right. A good squeeze of lemon juice, too, which sounds crazy ’cause they’re already tart, but it brightens things up, you know? Then, a few tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with a splash of water to thicken it up. Didn’t want a soupy pie.
Stirred it all together and let it simmer on low heat. Kept stirring so it wouldn’t stick. The kitchen started smelling interesting. Kinda fruity, kinda sharp. Cooked it ’til the berries started to soften and pop, and the sauce got nice and glossy. Maybe 10-15 minutes, tops. Tasted it. Still tart, but the sugar helped. And cooking them down definitely mellowed them out a bit.
Putting It All Together and the Bake
Once the filling was done, I let it cool down just a tad. You don’t want to pour scorching hot filling onto a cold raw crust, that’s just asking for trouble. Then, I poured it right into my prepared pie shell. Spread it out evenly.
For the top crust, I kept it simple. Rolled out the other half of my dough, laid it over the top. Trimmed the edges, crimped ’em with a fork – nothing fancy, just to seal it. Cut a few slits in the top so steam could escape. You gotta do that, or you’ll have a pie explosion. Brushed the top with a bit of milk, sprinkled some sugar on there for a bit of crunch and color.
Then, into the oven it went. I set it at around 375°F (that’s about 190°C for you folks across the pond). Baked it for, oh, I’d say close to 50 minutes. I just kept an eye on it. Waited ’til the crust was golden brown and I could see the filling bubbling through the vents. That’s the sign it’s done.
The Moment of Truth
Pulled it out, and man, the smell was something else. Different from your usual apple or cherry pie. This was… earthier, maybe? Let it cool on a wire rack. This is the hardest part, always. Waiting for pie to cool. You want to dive right in, but you gotta be patient, otherwise it’s just a hot mess.
Finally, cut a slice. The filling was this beautiful deep red. And the taste? You know what, it was pretty darn good! It was tart, yeah, but in a good way. The sugar balanced it out. The texture from the cooked-down berries was nice, and honestly, the seeds weren’t a big deal. They’re so small, you barely notice them after a bite or two. It’s definitely not a pie for folks who only like super sweet desserts. This has character.
So, that was my goumi pie adventure. It’s a bit different, a bit of a project if you’re picking your own berries, but worth a try if you ask me. Don’t be scared of the tartness, just embrace it. And don’t sweat the small stuff. Pie making should be fun, not a chore. Give it a go if you ever find yourself with a bunch of goumis!
