Recently, the Food52 Baking Club had The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book as our cookbook of the month, which means that I now have three gorgeous pies to share with you. I don’t own this cookbook and couldn’t justify adding to my collection (but that might change… #cookbookhoarder), but I managed to find several recipes online, and after making two of their pies I was convinced to finally join our local regional library so I could get my hands on the actual book!

The Four and Twenty Blackbirds pies range from fruit to custard to cream to nut to chocolate to oatmeal, and feature really interesting flavour combinations. Case in point: this beauty of a strawberry pie includes both balsamic vinegar AND black pepper, in addition to brown sugar (for extra caramel-y undertones) and Angostura bitters. I couldn’t find the bitters at the time, but the pie was still excellent without them. It uses the pectin in a grated apple plus arrowroot starch as a pie thickener (my previous go-to has been corn starch) and I have to say, it was really great: a soft set, but the filling was lovely and clear and jammy, almost syrupy.

I realized after baking that I’d forgotten to include 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in the filling, but I didn’t miss it. This pie was excellent – deeply-flavoured, not too sweet and totally delicious – and definitely a departure from what you’d expect from a strawberry pie, but a very happy one.

Strawberry Balsamic Pie

Adapted from The Four and Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book. Makes one 9″ pie. Click here for a printable PDF of the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 425˚F (400˚F convection) with the rack in the lower third of the oven.

You will need pastry for a double crust pie (that’s a top and bottom crust). I recommend my favourite flaky and tender all-butter pastry. Make sure your pastry is well-chilled so it doesn’t shrink too much in the oven.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one half of the pastry to between 1/8″-1/4″ thick and line a 9″ glass pie plate with it (glass pie plates are best for preventing soggy bottom crusts). Leave the pastry overhanging the edges and set aside in the fridge.

Roll out the other half of the pastry to between 1/8″-1/4″ thick, then cut into thin strips about 1/2 an inch wide. Transfer the strips of pastry to a baking sheet and put them in the fridge to keep chilled.

Stem and quarter 2 lbs fresh strawberries and toss them in a large bowl with 3 tbsp granulated sugar.

Let them macerate for 30-60 minutes – this will pull out the excess moisture in the strawberries and prevent the pie filling from being watery. Drain the excess liquid from the strawberries and discard.

Peel and grate 1 small baking apple and add it to the bowl with the strawberries. Add:

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)

In a small bowl, mix together:

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar (optional, if your strawberries aren’t very sweet)

3 tbsp arrowroot starch

2 grinds of finely ground black pepper

Add this to the strawberries and grated apple and toss to combine thoroughly.

Pour into the chilled pie shell.

To make the lattice top, lay half of the chilled pastry strips vertically over the filling, leaving about 1/2 an inch between them.

Fold back every second strip back half-way and lay a strip horizontally across the remaining strips. Now, fold back the previously un-folded strips and lay another strip horizontally.

Repeat until you reach the edge of the pie, then turn it around and weave the other half.

Once the lattice is complete, trim the overhanging strips to just past the edge of the filling, and trim the bottom crust to leave a 1″ overhang past the edge of the pie plate.

Fold the bottom crust’s overhang inwards to catch the strips and press firmly, then crimp the pastry between your fingers to flute the edge. Put the pie in the freezer to set the pastry for about 20 minutes.

While the pie chills, preheat the oven to 425˚F (400˚F convection) with the rack in the bottom third of the oven.

When the oven is preheated, remove the pie from the freezer and brush the lattice and fluted edge with an egg wash of 1 egg + 1 tbsp water + a pinch salt, then sprinkle with coarse sugar (such as turbinado).

Bake in the preheated 425˚F (400˚F convection) oven for 20-25 minutes, until he pastry is set and starting to brown. Turn the oven down to 375˚F (350˚F convection) and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes, until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the juices are bubbling in the centre of the pie.

Remove for the oven and cool completely on a rack for at least 2-3 hours (or longer, if you can wait) before cutting into slices to serve.

Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and keep for up to 2 days at room temperature, or 3 days in the fridge.